


Blue Lines, Red Ink

by kirkland_strider



Series: Like Paper [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen, Johns basically in his stubborn heterosexual phase for a few chapters, Major Character Injury, Mostly Fluff, Multi, possible smut????, rating will change if thats the case, they basically just become their own little clique and romance ensues, we'll see
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-18
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-01-19 22:30:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 34,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1486447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirkland_strider/pseuds/kirkland_strider
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Glasses off, please."</p>
<p>That was the fourth time you've heard that today. But the first time you actually heard him speak.</p>
<p>You hadn't paid much attention to the weird kid in your classes that wore shades all the time until he was jabbing a folded up note against the back of your neck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. binder paper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont let the fact that this is my first work on here discourage you! ive actually been writing for years if that gives any of you some literary security
> 
> edit i cant get html to work like a fcuKING n00b but hopefully that wont be a problem for long  
> double edit i fixed it yeehaw
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!

"Glasses off, please."

That was the fourth time you've heard that today. But the first time you actually heard him speak.

"Medical condition," the blond muttered. If you hadn't been sitting in the front of the class you wouldn't have heard it. He handed the teacher a note and sat down behind you.

The teacher scanned the note and nodded to herself in approval. "If that's all, how's about we begin role call?"

Your name was John Egbert. You were fourteen years old and already almost done with your first day of high school. Well, technically half, considering they were going to let you out at noon. You had piped up upon your name being called and got some papers, like all your other classes, but other than that didn't really put all that much effort into paying attention. It was kind of a bore.

The scratching at the back of your neck was new, though. You turned to give a questioning look to the guy behind you. With a straight face he held up a piece of paper folded into a small square. Oh. A note.

"Dave Strider?"

You still hadn't taken it. "Here," he said with a deadpan. So his name was Dave. You supposed you would have learned that earlier, had you taken any interest. And now he's staring, you think. And you're staring too. With a sigh you take the note.

Etched in a red scrawl are two simple words that completely surprise you.

sup egbert

You dug through your backpack to find your trusty blue pen. You slid the note back to him upon finishing your reply to him.

how do you know my name?

Not two seconds later was the paper back on your desk.

i pay attention dumbass  
plus we have history together

You weren't sure whether or not he meant the insult. You had already guessed he wasn't so much of a heart-on-his-sleeve guy like you. So you kept your face neutral as you replied.

and homeroom. and geometry.  
maybe i'm the one who's better at paying attention!  
my brains been fried harder than eggs over the summer do you really expect me to remember that much  
its the last class of the day and im ready to eat some grub go home and crash  
and if so i still got your name right  
touche.  
dave.  
john  
see look now were on a first name basis  
halfway to being two peas in a pod  
are suggesting we be friends?  
what you  
huge nerd with glasses and buck teeth  
my reputation cringes at the thought  
like you're soooo cool.  
damn straight i am  
im so cool the temperatures drop when i walk in  
much like the panties of every other girl in the class  
gross.  
what was your point again.  
are you not a ladies man egbert  
does your door get pushed instead of pulled  
what?  
no.  
i'm not gay.  
sure about that  
could have had me fooled  
i like girls! they're pretty and smell nice!  
sex things are just kinda gross, and i'm not into guys like at all. i'm too young for that.  
so were talking sex now  
didnt think you were that kind of guy  
and yknow youre never too young  
all i'm saying is i'm not gay!  
anyway. back to your point.  
if you don't want to be my friend then what is it.  
i never said nothing about not being friends  
i thought id take you under my wing  
the little chick to my mama bird  
kick your butt up the social ladder a little  
why?  
im a generous guy  
plus youve got a lot of untapped potential there  
you could make all the girls swoon with that charm  
in a completely romantic and not sexual way  
what's in it for you?  
a not so nerdy friend  
youd make it to the top of my elite list of pals  
you don't have any friends, do you.  
im wounded  
cut me some slack here egbert  
ive got like four  
names?  
karkats a grumpy short sophmore in a hugeass gray sweater  
how he doesnt die of heat in that big ugly thing is a mystery to me  
i think hes in geometry with us if you dont recall  
you know hes kinda cute  
i could hook you two up  
no thanks. not gay, remember?  
and that's only one friend.  
impatient are we  
terezis a sophmore too and shes pretty cool  
weve got art together which is kinda ironic since shes blind and stuff  
and then jakes my bros boyfriend  
and a junior  
jake english?  
yeah  
you know him  
he's my cousin!  
well hell  
small world aint it  
and how many friends have you got  
i have three friends!  
jade is my cousin too. she's in our grade. i've got bio with her, and she's super nice!  
vriska's a sophmore, and i've got pe with her. she's pretty awesome if you don't get on her bad side.  
kanaya's her girlfriend, but we really hit it off! she's really intelligent and fashionable.  
and. i guess jane counts too? she's my sister and a junior.  
so all girls huh

"Ahem."

You looked up from the crowded paper midsentence to see the teacher staring down at you. You hadn't even noticed that you and Dave had filled two other sheets of paper.

"You haven't been listening at all this class, have you?"

"I'm sorry," you murmured guiltily. You stole a look at the clock to see that all but five minutes left of the class had gone by.

"Don't let it happen again," she said, a tone of sympathy breaking through her voice. "I can tell, you're a bright kid. Now, as I was saying..."

You turned and gave Dave a dirty look, not bothering to reply to him now. All he gave back was the slightest twitch of his lip. You stuck your tongue out and turned back around.

It wasn't until most of everyone was gone that he spoke up.

"I'm real sorry I got you in trouble. Won't happen again, Strider code of honor," he held up one hand to his heart in a salut. Wow, he wasn't any less of a dork than you were. You kept the thought to yourself. He had the slightest twinge of a southern accent in his voice too. You wondered where he was from. After all, Washington was a far cry from the south.

"It better not," you replied, not looking up as you shoved your binder in your bag. "I'd hate to start off the year with a bad reputation."

"At least you didn't get detention already from PE," he replied. But he waved it off, shouldering a red bag over his shoulder. "But at least you had fun, right?"

"I wouldn't say that," you argued.

"Please. It was plain as day that you had a smile wider than a kid's at a candy shop," he pointed out. "Anyway, I should make it up to you. I'm meeting one of my friends for lunch at the cafe down the street. You should come."

Your dad wouldn't be picking you and your sister up for another hour anyway. Jane was in charge of cooking club and there was a meeting for club leaders after school. You supposed Dave wasn't that intimidating. And maybe his friend was nice too.

"Sure," you said with a grin. "Like right now?"

"No. We're meeting at the dead of night," Dave replied. You think he rolled his eyes, but you weren't so sure with the shades he wore. You wondered what kind of condition he had that let him keep them on during class. They hid a good portion of his face, but you could see the wide spray of freckles peeking out from under them.

And then you noticed that, standing, you were actually a good few inches taller than him. He wasn't wearing anything special, just a red tee and a pair of black skinny jeans. His converse were red and white. And new. It was even kind of similar to what you were wearing, a white long sleeved shirt and cargo shorts as well as your worn blue sneakers. You were glad not everyone wore their fanciest outfit on the first day. Though maybe this was his fanciest. And oops, now you think you were staring again. You tended to get lost in your thoughts.

"Whatever. I just have to stop by the music room," you said. "I forgot my binder."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you play?"

"Piano," you replied. "I take orchestra!"

"Lame. At least I'm in a cool class," he said. "Digital music is gonna be the shit."

"Sure it is." You rolled your eyes. He's trying to out-cool you. And it's working. Well, to some degree. "I'll just meet you there?"

"Sounds like a plan. Later." And with that he was gone. You didn't realise it until you blinked. He must be on the track team or something.


	2. napkins

Your piano binder was right where you had left it. With all the things you had to carry around, and considering it was the first day, you didn't blame yourself for forgetting it. Two other binders, plus your planner, a novel, two notebooks, and your own personal notebook was a lot to tote around. Not to mention pencils and note cards.

You liked being prepared.

You weren't prepared, however, when you stepped in the shop you were supposed to meet Dave at and found it to be empty, save for a short girl in an apron wiping down tables.

You should have known. Your heart sank and you wondered why you were so sad. It wasn't the first time someone had ditched you. You turned to leave and bumped into a girl about your age.

"Sorry," you muttered, looking up to sincerely apologize. The first thing you noticed were that her eyes were a striking purple. Weird. A violet headband of nearly the same hue pushed back her platinum blonde hair, and a deep shade of ebony swiped over her lips. Her blazer was lavender and her black pencil skirt matched her flats. Her way of dress was pretty sophisticated, must have been some first day for her. It clicked that she was in the orchestra, same as you. And, oops, you were staring again.

"It's no problem," the girl replied with a polite smile. "I suppose you were looking for someone?" she observed.

"It was a friend I thought I made," you admitted. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if he ditched me."

She gave you a sympathetic look. "Well, I am to meet my brother here for lunch, but it doesn't look as if he's here yet. Would you care to join us?"

You nodded enthusiastically. It wasn't as if you had anything better to do now, anyway. "I'd like that! My name's John. John Egbert."

"Rose Lalonde. A pleasure," she replied, sticking her hand out to shake yours. It was a warm gesture and you decided that you liked her.

The two of you sat across from each other in a booth at the corner of the shop. You two chatted it up about your first days. Rose was a freshman as well, though her classes were pretty different from yours. She was already taking Algebra 2 and Chemistry, and Psychology.

"It's a passion of mine, psychology," she remarked. "I hope to someday be a therapist."

You explained how you wanted to go more hands-on in the field of science. Biology, or even Biochemistry.

"Anything with life, really. It's all so fascinating," you said in awe.

Rose opened her mouth to say something when someone slid into the booth next to you. "Well, it seems you two are chummy already."

"Dave," she chastised. You blinked only to realise it was indeed the one and only Dave Strider. "You were supposed to meet me here fifteen minutes ago."

"I got caught up with something," he said casually, shrugging it off. "Anyway, it gave you and John the chance to hit it off, didn't it?"

You stammered, confused. Didn't Rose say she was meeting her brother here?

Rose smiled upon seeing your befuddled expression. "John, I suppose you've met my brother, Dave, already?"

"Step-brother," Dave cut in.

"I'm offended, Dave. I consider you full blood."

"Bro and Mom have only been married for like three years."

"Enough time for me to grow on you, I would think."

You cleared your throat to interrupt them. Related or not, they sure acted like it. "So you're siblings?"

"To a degree," Rose explained. "Our parents were wed three years ago. My mother, my sister Roxy, and I have known the Striders for at least nine years, though."

"Wow. Nine whole years. I can't even begin to think of having a relationship that long!" you replied.

"Speaking of relationships," Dave announced. "You two should hang out more often."

"Was this a set up?" Rose asked him skeptically, eyes sweeping from you to him and back to you. You shook your head, dumbfounded.

"Well, you two look pretty well off already. I wouldn't be surprised if it was," Dave said. You glanced at him to see that he was smirking. Confidently, you might add.

Rose sighed and folded her hands together over the table. "There is something I've been meaning to tell you. I hope you don't mind, John, as it's rather personal."

Dave raised his eyebrow. "Spill. If you can tell me you can tell mister future boyfriend over here."

"Fine," she replied, taking a breath. "But I'm afraid John and I won't be dating any time soon. I'm gay."

"You're. What?" Dave asked after a moment of silence. You decided to sit this one out and stay silent.

"I'm attracted to women, and might I add only to women. It's the twenty first century, Dave. The concept isn't anything foreign," she grinned at her remark, "especially to you."

"I just didn't expect that," he replied. "But I guess it makes sense."

"Are you stereotyping me?"

"No. Hell no. You're unique and shit like that. But seeing as you stare at girls a lot, the puzzle pieces aren't hard to put together."

At the remark Rose smiled, somewhat embarrassed. "So you've noticed?"

"Yeah, kinda. And you've never brought a boy home anyway."

"Now that isn't true. Karkat insisted he come home with me that one time you were ill."

"Nope. Don't count."

"And that time you tried leaving poor Tavros in the rain."

"I only had one umbrella."

"And the time Eridan and I worked on a project together-"

"Fine. I get your point."

You found yourself giggling at their banter. While you didn't like the idea of arguing with your own sister, you found their exchanges entertaining at the least. The girl who had been wiping tables was eyeing the three of you now and you remembered why you were even there in the first place. You picked up a menu and smiled at Rose and Dave politely.

"Shall we order?" you asked.

They both nodded and followed your example. While Rose ordered chicken strips, a salad, and a lemonade, you got a tuna sandwich and Pepsi, and Dave a burger and a glass of apple juice. It wasn't until you were well into your sandwich that Dave spoke up again.

"We should make this a regular thing, having lunch together."

"You do realize we go to school on a closed campus and wouldn't be able to come here anyway?" Rose cut in.

"Yeah, and, don't you already have friends to hang out with?" you added with a teasing grin.

"Shut up, let me finish, I didn't mean here you smartasses," Dave said. "Everyone else already has their own group, so why don't we be a group of our own. We can go claim a part of the campus or something."

"I might as well," Rose said after a moment. "I wouldn't really have anyone else to eat with anyway."

You thought about it. You didn't really have any other friends that didn't have their own group already.

"Sure!" you agreed. "Why not?"

Dave nodded. "Great. We should have a group name too."

"The Three Musketeers?" you asked with a grin.

"No."

" _Folie à Trois_?" Rose chimed in.

"No. Hell no. Never mind, we can think of something later."

You laughed, when your pocket started vibrating. You took out your phone to look at it. It was your sister.

"One moment," you told the others while you answered the phone.

"John! Dad's on his way and I can't find you anywhere, are you okay?"

Your sister was such a sweetheart. She'd probably been looking for you and now you felt bad.

"Sorry, it totally slipped my mind to tell you," you replied apologetically. "I'm having lunch down the street with some friends."

You could hear her sigh on the other end of the line, but whether it was out of relief or exhaustion you couldn't tell. "Well, at least you're safe. Make your way back over here soon, okay?"

"Okay!" you said before hanging up. Rose and Dave were looking at you expectantly. "That was my sister, my dad'll be at the school soon to pick us up."

Rose nodded in understanding while Dave muttered a "Damn, already?" under his breath. You dug out a ten dollar bill from your wallet to help pay for the food before standing up.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, then?"

"Yup." "Of course." Were their simultaneous replies. You moved to leave when you felt a pat on your butt. You turned to Dave to give him a dirty look, but all he supplied was a subtle grin. You passed it off as a continuation of the whole you-being-gay joke and left.

 

* * *

 

When John was gone you shifted your attention back to your food.

"You like him."

You nearly choked on your burger as you stared up at Rose. "Scuse me?"

Her dark lips pulled into a smirk and you wondered how her lipstick stayed so perfect after eating so much food. "I'm not blind, Dave. You have a thing for John."

"Yeah, well. Shut up," you grumbled, not coming up with a snarky reply as you usually would. After all, John was actually kind of cute in a dorky way and he didn't have any guy friends and he hadn't freaked out when Rose hinted that you yourself were exclusively gay, so.

No, no, no. You wanted John to be your friend here. Push those mushy feelings aside and take another bite of your burger and everything would be cool.

"If you say so," your sister said with a grin. "Just don't make this into too much of a mess."

Bitch please, you were Dave Strider and you were famous for not making messes of things.

Or so you thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have the first few chapters written out already but after like chapter four dont expect me to update so often cause ill be writing and all yeehaw
> 
> i made the waitress nepeta and thatll be made more obvious later on along with a couple other people idk
> 
> she works at the cafe part time but has to get her schedule fixed to accommodate school hours hahah
> 
> i say this now cause its going to show up in the story never
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!


	3. maps

You met your sister at the front of the school just in time, as thirty seconds later you spotted your dad's car pulling up to the curb.

"How was your first day?" he asked as your sister claimed shotgun and you slid into the back seat.

"My classes seem easy and the teachers are nice too," you started. "I even made some friends, and recognize a couple kids from middle school."

"That's great. These friends got any names?"

"Dave Strider and Rose Lalonde," you answered proudly.

Jane turned in her seat to look at you. "Like, Jake's-boyfriend-Dirk's-little brother and sister Dave Strider and Rose Lalonde?"

"Uh, yeah, I think."

She clicked her tongue. "You best be careful John, I heard that boy's trouble. I've seen Rose in Psychology and she seems nice enough, but you never know with that lot."

"I'll be careful," you promised. You would've been crossing your fingers because, well, right now you didn't really have any other friends that were in your grade. Jade could have counted, that is, if the two of you weren't related already.

When you got home you crashed in your room, you shifted into relax mode, kicking off your shoes and taking off your jacket. You plopped onto your bed with a groan, backpack forgotten on the floor. Though you supposed you should start your homework while it was still early. With a more regretful groan you got up, dragged your backpack to your desk, and pulled out whatever it was you had to do.

Most of it consisted of papers that needed to be signed, by both you and your dad, and after signing them yourself you left them in a pile at the corner of your desk as a reminder. Though you did have a few tests to take, even if they weren't for a grade and mostly to see how well you had an understanding of previous material. Nothing too difficult.

Though you ended up taking your time doing that than you meant to, and when you had gone and come back for a snack break you decided to finish the last few problems later.

It was starting to get dark outside, so you flipped on the lights in your room. You took your phone out of your pocket to plug it into a charger too, as you had forgotten to do that when you got back, when your fingers brushed against something else. When had a napkin gotten in there? You unfolded it to see a messy red scrawl that you vaguely remembered.

turntechGodhead

When what the words could possibly mean clicked, you were at your desk again and booting up your computer. You opened a chat program that you had installed so long ago thanks to the advice of an internet friend, but since the two of you had had a falling out, you hadn't used it for you hadn't anyone else to chat with. But now you did. Maybe. You entered in the name and, sure enough, there was a user with that name in the database. And they were online.

ectoBiologist began pestering turntechGodhead at 17:38.  
EB: it wouldn't have killed you to just tell me you had a pesterchum instead of doing the whole slip-a-note-and-pray thing?  
EB: i didn't even know anyone used this program still.  
TG: you really took your sweet time didnt you egbert  
TG: and here i am shaking in my boots as i await a message from my dear new friend  
TG: and despite what you may have previously thought  
TG: yes i do use pesterchum  
TG: in fact i just updated it a few days ago  
TG: it even has that new smell  
TG: breathe it in john  
TG: the smell of instant messaging and blooming friendships  
EB: it smells like my grandma's house.  
EB: maybe that's cause i haven't touched this thing in forever.  
TG: you need to get with the times  
TG: everyone i know has one if you must know  
TG: its getting to be kind of ridiculous  
EB: really?  
TG: i thought it was underground at first  
TG: and then rose asked if i had a chumhandle and shit flew  
TG: shit flew off my handle so hard  
TG: it splattered a little too  
TG: i had to air the place out for hours  
EB: gross.  
TG: ill let rose know youve got one too  
TG: just in case she wanted to add you  
EB: gotcha.  
EB: sucks that your little matchmaker plan didn't work out the way you wanted it to.  
TG: ill find a way to get over it  
TG: besides i at least got you guys to agree to eating with me for lunch  
TG: and if that aint a feat in itself well  
EB: good point.  
TG: so for tomorrow  
TG: on a scale of one to i know this shit better than the front of my hand  
TG: how well do you know the campus  
EB: negative four zillion.  
EB: i had to keep for asking directions to my classes, it was embarrassing.  
TG: pretty sure zillions not a number  
EB: and isn't the phrase "know it better than the BACK of my hand?"  
TG: think about that john  
TG: how well do you know the back of your hand  
EB: not all that well, actually.  
TG: thought so  
TG: now the front of my hand ive got a pretty good relationship with  
TG: if you catch my drift  
EB: wow dave.  
TG: glad my drifts been caught  
TG: anyway whats your second period  
EB: biology.  
TG: one sec  
TG: sending you a map  
TG sent a file to EB at 18:15.  
EB: and what am i supposed to do with this?  
TG: study it  
TG: itll be vital to your quest of finding where were gonna sit for lunch tomorrow  
TG: hint i drew some helpful arrows  
TG: now if you excuse me ive got some obligated family dinner to join  
EB: didn't think you and rose would fit the whole "eat as a family" ordeal.  
TG: its more of a required weekly thing as opposed to a regular happening  
TG: mom says its a good way to keep in touch but not kill each other over food  
EB: gotcha.  
TG: study that map good you hear  
TG: anyway later  
turntechGodhead ceased pestering ectoBiologist at 18:21.

Upon opening it you discovered that yes, this was indeed a map of your school. Well, mostly. It had red scribblings over it that you suspected were Dave's additions to the map.

Though from what you could tell, what Dave wanted you to do was go through a bunch of trees to a part off the map. Seemed sketchy enough. If anything you could at least check it out before deciding if that was a safe place for the three of you to eat. And if not you would hopefully not be seen going there and back and getting in trouble for it. Your dad would kill you if you got a detention or even worse, suspension.

You pushed it to the back of your mind and decided it was time for a little more relaxation.

And this so called relaxation was also known as watching some guys play video games on YouTube, playing frustrating puzzle games yourself, and downloading some music. For well over a few hours. Oops.

You remembered the map, and you knew you were going to have to print it out. Thanks to the family printer being all the way downstairs in Dad's study, you nearly tripped down the stairs trying to get there before it was done printing out.

Unfortunately when you got there, you were greeted with Jane's question of "What's this?" She must have been doing her homework in there, as her backpack was slung over one of the chairs and papers looking similar to the ones you yourself had were scattered over the desk. She held the freshly printed map in one hand while her other hand rested on her hip.

"Oh that's. A map of the school," you supplied lamely.

"And all this red writing?"

"My friend trying to mess me over. I'm only using it to learn my way around campus." You weren't the best liar when it didn't come to pranking someone but hopefully she wouldn't pry too hard into it.

With a shrug she handed it over. "You can always print one off the internet if you need another one," she suggested.

"I'll keep that in mind next time!" you said with a smile, sighing internally.

"This friend wouldn't happen to be Dave Strider, would it?" Jane said slowly.

"Uh."

"John." Her expression softened and she rested a hand on your shoulder. "I know it's hard to make friends in high school, believe me, but just be careful, okay? I've heard things about the Striders that I don't want happening to you."

What those things entailed, she wasn't going to tell you, as she gathered her own things and shoved them into her backpack.

Maybe it wasn't as bad as she cracked it up to be, and you weren't the innocent little middle school kid you were, well. Yesterday.

You'd show her you were mature enough to hang with Dave. Yeah.

Oh well not now. A glimpse at the clock told you it was bedtime.

But you would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mapmaking is hard
> 
> i know i have some pov switches here and there, but its going to be mostly john to clear up any confusion
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!


	4. candy wrappers

The day crawled by slower than you expected it to. Well, to be fair, it wasn't going to be a minimum day every day but still, you were a little anxious for lunch.

Homeroom wasn't bad, considering it was only fourty minutes, but you could swear that every time you looked in Dave's direction, he would be looking back.

Geometry was better, at least. You could focus more on the lesson(even if it was incredibly basic) instead of glancing at Dave every five minutes.

At break you were introduced to Karkat and Terezi, which could be described as nothing but a confusing and concerning experience.

"John, these are my pals Karkat and Terezi," Dave gestured to the pair.

The former had curly black hair stuffed under a black beanie and dark eyes that glinted red in the sunlight. He was as tall as you thought he was, which was not very tall at all, and yes, he was nearly drowning in his big gray hoodie. He grumbled a "Yeah, whatever," in your direction which worried you until the latter spoke.

"Don't mind Karkat, he's always like that," the girl explained with a grin. You would have described her as arm candy to Karkat by how comfortable she looked in displaying her affections for him, but you dismissed the thought considering she was a good couple inches taller than him, and that those affections entailed using his head as an armrest.

You figured her parents didn't have a tight leash on Terezi, considering her hair was dyed a bright red and had what you could tell from when she talked, a tongue piercing. She wore pointy, red tinted glasses and a teal graphic tee. A cane hung from one of the belt loops in her jeans and you remembered Dave saying something about her being blind.

You made a mental note to introduce them all to your other friends before you all parted ways to your next classes, Terezi dragging Karkat by the hand and saying something about World History.

"Are they a couple?" you murmured to Dave.

"Nobody knows," he said with a shrug.

And with that, he made his way to Digital Music and you to Biology.

You were kinda lost in your thoughts for most of the class, most of them centering on your many possible guesses as to where you would be eating lunch.

"John.  _John._ "

It wasn't until she was snapping her fingers in your face that you realized that your cousin Jade was trying to talk to you and that class was over.

"Sorry. What was that?" you asked with a sheepish grin, gathering your things.

"I  _asked_ , did you wanna have lunch together?"

"Oh um." Well. You couldn't turn her down but you couldn't turn Dave down either. Or Rose.

"Um?"

So maybe she could join you. On one hand you weren't sure whether or not Jade would be welcome to your little trio. On the other hand you knew she grew up in a rural town with lots of forests so maybe she could protect you and make sure you didn't die.

Let's go with the other hand.

"Yeah okay sure. But you have to keep our eating place a secret, got it?" you asked as you slung your backpack over one shoulder.

"Got it."

It wasn't until you were leading her to the patch of trees behind the buildings that she gave you a suspicious look. "Um, John."

"Just trust me, okay?" You weren't even sure you trusted yourself as you climbed over a bush and made your way through the trees.

"No, John. Really."

"Come on," you said, not bothering to look back at her as you wormed your way through a couple of pine trees and got your foot tangled in some roots.

"John!"

You turned to look at her. She had her hand on her hip as she pointed not ten feet away to a little dirt path that looked a billion times more preferable than just wading through plants.

"Oh," you say slowly, picking your way out of the bushes and over to the path. Jade let you lead, but you could swear you could hear her trying not to laugh at you.

A minute of walking brought the two of you to a little clearing. The grass was long and green with a bunch of little daisies scattered about. You would have bet good money that this was the place, except for the fact that there was no one else here.

Something hit the back of your head and fell to the ground. You bent to pick it up and uncrumple it.

It was a wrapper for a Hershey's chocolate bar and you turned to look at the direction it had come from. You were glad you did, because if you hadn't you would have never seen Rose and Dave sitting in what looked to be a treehouse, already eating.

"Took you long enough," Dave said with a mouthful of chocolate. "Sup Harley."

"Hi guys," Jade said with a little wave. Wait.

You looked from your cousin to the siblings. "You all know each other?"

"Same middle school," Jade said with a grin. At least you could spare the introductions.

Rose tossed down a rope ladder to the two of you, her other hand occupied with a juice box. "Are you going to join us or not?"

Jade was the first to climb and you were quick to follow. Upon getting inside you could see that the treehouse was more than big enough to accommodate the four of you.

"How'd you find this place?" you asked as you took a seat.

"Do you know that elementary school they shut down because of health code violations?" Rose asked.

You nodded, having a vague idea.

"It's on the other side of all these trees. I went there for a few years before they kicked us all out," Dave explained. "Did a little exploring when I could and well."

"That's so cool!" Jade piped in. "Does anyone else know about it?"

"Not that I know of."

You pulled out your own lunch and took out your sandwich, taking a bite.

"What clubs are you guys in?" Jade asked.

Rose shrugged. "Haven't decided."

"Might join the track team," Dave said after a moment.

"I'm in the gardening club. But we've only got like four members," Jade said, picking at one of the colorful bands on her fingers. "What about you, John?"

"Wh-me?" you asked. Up until now you hadn't considered any clubs and you weren't quite sure which one you wanted to join. "I dunno. I might not join one at all, isn't that a thing I can do?"

The girls nodded. "You're allowed early dismissal if you don't join a club," Rose explained.

Well that was convenient. "Why doesn't everyone do that?" you asked.

"Extra curricular, most likely," she answered. "It looks good to colleges and such."

Huh. "Maybe I will join one," you said, trailing off into your thoughts.

There were only so many clubs you could choose from, some of them being sports teams such as the football team or the swim club. But you weren't really the athletic type, so maybe you would go for something else. You liked playing music, but you weren't a hands-on artsy type, so art club or sewing club wouldn't work either. Same goes for the robotics team or debate club, those just seemed too hard. And that wasn't even half of them.

You inwardly sighed. You would figure out something eventually, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to clear any possible confusion: john, vriska, and kanaya all went to one middle school and jade, rose, dave, terezi, and karkat to another and they filter in the same high school
> 
> i did so much mathy stuff for this im gonna cry
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!


	5. paper cups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> clubs are "during" school instead of the traditional after school thing
> 
> lets mix it up here
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!

A week's passed by now and you still haven't chosen a club. You didn't really think through the whole "going home early" thing through considering Jane still had a club to go to and left you ride-less for over an hour.

You sighed as you bent over to touch your toes. If you didn't choose something soon you'd be stuck finding a place to study every other day, including today.

"Are you still hung up over that whole club bullshit?" a voice asked above you. You stood up straight to see that the voice did indeed belong to your friend Vriska.

The girl leading the stretches for today hooked her fingers behind her back and the two of you did the same.

Vriska was about your height with bleach blonde hair that she assured you was natural. Though you didn't know whether or not to trust her word on it considering the ends of her hair were dyed cyan. Usually she'd be wearing ripped jeans and a tank top, or something of the kind, but now she wore a gray tee and black basketball shorts- same as you.

"Yeah," you answered her. "And my sister does cooking club so I can't just leave."

You broke the pose after about ten seconds before switching. Instead of mirroring you Vriska slung her arm around the shoulders of the poor kid to her right.

"If anything, I'll let you join us in the LARP club, aint that right Tav?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah sure," he replied, though his voice didn't sound so sure as he forced a grin onto his face.

"I'll consider it," you said with a smile. "Thanks for the offer."

It was then that you all had to take a lap, and the two of them were gone far ahead of you.

The rest of the period was spent with your class playing basketball inside the gym. By the time you got changed into your regular clothes again you were sweating. At least the weather was nice, not too hot even though it was sunny.

It wasn't until English class that you were hit with relief. By now you and Dave were used to passing notes and could do so without the teacher noticing so much. Though you did stop every now and then to hear the lesson and be an actual participating student.

club day again  
you gonna spend all period studying like a huge nerd  
it's not like i can do anything else, right?  
i might as well just go and check out each club.  
i heard from my bro that jake just explores while he does robotics  
maybe the two of you can catch up  
yeah, maybe.  
it's not like i'll get in trouble for just wandering on campus if i'm not doing anything to disrupt the other clubs.  
so i might do that.  
oh man or  
you could come check out the track team we could always use more members  
i think i'll pass.  
not really that much of a sports guy.  
asthma and all.  
you never said you had asthma  
never thought it was worth mentioning?  
it used to be way worse when i was younger.  
i mean i still keep an inhaler around just in case, but. better safe than sorry.  
makes sense  
maybe you could be our waterboy  
ha.  
maybe i'll humor you and come hang around for a while.

After passing the note back you looked up to take some actual notes. But Dave didn't reply for a good ten minutes, which you found odd.

And then there it was, poking the back of your neck.

lots of hot guys on the team too

Ah.

i fucking hate you.  
dont resist it john  
you know you want to ogle sweaty running dudes and hand them little paper cups of gatorade just to fawn over them  
maybe i'll just go watch the cheerleaders instead.  
no come on the guys on that team are obviously hetero  
come to track with me and be the teams beloved waterboy  
you know you wanna  
ugh! fine!  
but no more gay jokes.  
you have my word

The bell rang, which startled you a little, but quickly you wrote down the homework assignment and got your things together.

You stuffed the note in your bag as well before turning to Dave. "Lead the way."

"Will do," he replied, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He led you across campus towards the locker rooms.

"Should I just?" you trailed off as you pointed back towards where the track was.

"Wouldn't want you getting lost now would we?" he shot back with a grin as he went inside. With a little sigh you followed. "Besides, the softball team's out there too. Can't have the ladies snatching you away."

"Good point." You took a seat on the bench as he opened his locker to get his things. It's not until he reached up to take his shades off that you asked about them. "Why do you wear those, anyway? The sunglasses."

He didn't look at you as he took his shoes off too. "They're sensitive to bright light, comes with the whole albino shpeal. Unless it's the middle of the fucking night it hurts to go without em." You nodded slowly. " 's why I didn't go out for football. They don't allow eyewear and with all those bright lights, like. Fuck that noise."

"Can I see?" you asked, wondering what they looked like. He visibly stiffened.

"No," he said with an air of closure before slipping off his shirt too and reaching for the track uniform's shirt instead.

You ended up staring at his back, which was lean but still obviously muscled. You would have thought to ask about the few scars littering his skin before deciding you've asked enough questions. And then his shirt was on and he was taking off his pants and okay now was a good time to look away and give him some privacy.

"Come on," he tapped your shoulder on his way out and with a little jump you followed.


	6. water bottles

Seeing Dave run was an experience in itself. Somehow he managed to keep his glasses on when he ran and he was actually noticeably faster than the other members of his team, or at least from what you could tell from the bleachers.

"Quite the fellow, isn't he?"

You jumped at the sudden voice behind you, only to realize it was your cousin, Jake. You turned to greet him properly, considering you haven't actually talked to him since the start of the school year. "Hey Jake."

"Hello, chap." He smiled brightly and took the seat next to you. "Glad to see you're taking after me."

"Pardon?" you asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The Striders, I've taken the older and you the younger," he answered, gesturing over to Dave who was now jumping over hurdles against a boy much taller than him. "Though, Dirk is much more my type."

You sputtered a little before rolling your eyes. "I'm not gay. It just so happens that we're friends."

"Don't have to be gay to fancy him," your cousin teased.

"You know what I mean!" Your cheeks felt warm and you pulled off your hoodie as the sun had been shining on you for a while anyway.

Upon setting the garment aside you caught Dave looking over in your and Jake's direction. You gave a little enthusiastic wave and he nodded back.

"Thinking of joining any clubs yourself, or have you settled on being track cheerleader?" Jake asked with a quirk of his brow.

"Very funny. They actually invited me to be their waterboy, whatever the heck that is."

"Ah, well." Jake stood, wiping his hands on his khakis before messing up your hair. "Jade's asked me to check out this newfangled gardening club, though I'm not sure it's exactly my forte."

"See you around then!" You gave him a smile and a wave before attempting to fix your hair. Somehow whenever he did that your hair swept up like his did and yet you could never get it to do what you wanted it to yourself.

With your sweater gone the sun on your back felt nice and you stretched a little. The track team had called a water break and you thought you ought to carry water to them. Yeah right. It would only give Dave the satisfaction he wanted, whether he was joking about you being waterboy or not. So instead you laid down on the bleachers. While it was no mattress, at least it wasn't too uncomfortable either.

The team was taking a lap again and, as you watched Dave, you thought closing your eyes for a moment wouldn't hurt.

 

* * *

 

Sweat was soaking through your shirt and you stopped by the cooler for another drink of water. Today was hotter than it had been for the past week or so and you wondered how John could sleep without completely dying. Wait.

John was snoozing on the bleachers like a goddamn cat.

Now on one hand it bothered you that he wasn't watching you like the cheerleader you thought he'd be but on the other hand he looked pretty adorable sleeping like that, even from this distance.

Your coach blew the whistle and told you all to go dress out again because the period was over.

Upon returning to the bleachers in your rightful clothes and a water bottle in your hand you saw that John was still sleeping. What a dork. You nudged him gently with your foot. "Yo, waterboy."

He just grumbled a little, but didn't show any other signs of stirring.

"Dude." You crouched down in front of him and frowned. "John."

His eyes squeezed shut when your body blocked the sunlight and you figured he was just resting. "I will pour this entire water bottle on you I swear to fucking god."

That made his eyes flutter open(which was totally not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen) only to make them squint at you from the sudden brightness. You silently thanked yourself for your shades. "You suck," he said slowly as he pushed his own glasses up to rub his eyes.

You stood and shoved your hands in your pockets. "Not for free," you said automatically with a little smirk.

"Ew, Dave!" Despite his statement a smile grew on his face and he stretched out.

"Come on, get up, school's over."

"Carry me," was his response.

You rolled your eyes. "You're such a baby, besides you're too big to carry. I was built for speed, not strength dumbass."

"Fine." With a groan he sat up, then slowly stood up. Then scooped  _you_ up.

"John. Put me down," you said warily. You didn't mind being carried but John was dangerously close to tickling you and you were definitely not having that.

"If I can't carry you, then you have to carry me."

"Can't we at least do piggy back?"

"Nope!"

Deciding this was a battle you weren't going to win, you went limp in his arms. "Oh then my dear heroic prince, just take me now!" you said dramatically.

"Sorry my dear damsel," John started with a grin, "for I've only come to rescue you."

"I'd rather take my chances with the dragon, milord."

"But mistress, I've already killed him."

"Necrophilia isn't a crime for another few centuries."

With that he put you down. "You sick bastard," he said as he started to laugh.

You grinned and stretched. Though you knew Dirk'd be pissed for making him wait for you you didn't want to leave just yet.

"Oh yeah," he said after he calmed down. "Did you wanna come over, maybe? I've got video games."

Well that solved that problem. "Sure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> daves crushin and he cant deny it for much longer
> 
> im laughing because im writing all this sunny hot bullshit while its raining outside
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!


	7. paper plates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i fixed some minor formatting errors in earlier chapters
> 
> dont worry your pretty lil heads about it my darlings
> 
> what you can worry about is this chapter haha. cant have fluffy fluff without a little drama
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!

Your dad was suspicious when you approached the car with a bounce in your step and a blond kid trailing behind you but after a little begging the two of you were sitting together in the back seat and you were all on your way back to the house.

And then came the obligated new friend car conversation.

"So, Dave, are you a freshman too?" Dad asked, glancing at him through the rear view mirror.

"Yup."

"Do you know what you wanna do for college yet?"

"Nope."

"How old are you, son?"

"Fifteen in December."

"Got any siblings?"

"Three."

Your dad seemed satisfied considering Dave probably wasn't going to give an answer longer than a few words. "How was your day, John?"

"It was good," you replied, perking up in your seat. "We just started a project in history and during lunch, Jade was drinking water and it went up her nose!"

"Oh yeah that was funny," Dave added.

"Project?" Dad asked. You inwardly cringed because you were hoping he wouldn't focus on that.

"Yeah, we're each assigned a country and we have to research its geographical changes over time," you said with a shrug.

"I remember that," Jane said thoughtfully. It was the first time she'd spoken since she got in the car and you hoped it wasn't because of Dave. "I had Russia."

"I've got Brazil," you said back.

"China," Dave muttered.

The car fell silent after that and you were the first out of it once it pulled into the driveway. Dave was second considering he had to follow you. Though you still had to wait for your dad to actually unlock the house.

Once inside you spread your arms and gave Dave a bright grin. "This is my house."

He took off his shoes at the door, set down his backpack, and looked around. Luckily the living room wasn't as cluttered as it usually was and you hoped he wouldn't be weirded out by how much harlequin and detective paraphernalia there was around the house. However he just shrugged. "Casa Del Egbert's bigger than I thought it'd be," he concluded.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"There's only three of you, right? Seems like you wouldn't need such a big house."

"Well, it's nice not to be crammed in tight," you explained. "And that's just the downstairs, wait till you see my room." And with that, you were up the stairs and he was following.

Dave shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around. While your room could have been cleaner, after a quick pick up it was deemed presentable. It wasn't that special either, just your bed, desk with your computer, and dresser with your-

"What. Is that."

Your line of sight followed his pointed finger and laughed. "That's just Casey." Your pet salamander was looking at the two of you curiously from her tank on your dresser.

"That's just freaky," he said with a very visible shiver.

"Really? Rose told me you keep dead stuff in jars."

"Yeah, cause shit's dead and can't hurt you."

You just laughed and gently tapped the glass. Casey skittered back under a log in the tank. Dave relaxed but still looked wary.

Oh you would definitely use this to your advantage some time. But later.

"What do you wanna do?" you asked.

He grinned a little. "You mentioned video games?"

The next few hours consisted of the two of you sharing the couch and lots of angry shouting over Mario Kart and Portal 2, you being louder over the former considering he was beating your ass, and him being louder over the latter considering you kept killing him(and yourself) and messing up the tests. On purpose, of course. You've beaten this with Jade a number of times. But like you would tell Dave that.

"For fucks sake, John, you gotta jump at the exact right time, or else you won't catch the cube!"

"Like this?"

"No, oh my god. I go and press the button and two and a half seconds later you have to jump through yours to catch it."

"So like this."

" _John_. No you know what you can press the button."

"So, like this?"

"Oh my god, that's the WRONG PORTAL."

And then you had settled down to bickering about which movie to watch off Netflix as your dad brought you some snacks on just some paper plates. "Will you be staying with us for dinner?" he asked.

"Yeah, let me just tell Br-" Dave stopped midsentence as he had pulled out his phone and you glanced over worriedly.

He had nearly 15 new texts and 20 missed calls.

To rose and dirk:  
[[MESSAGE FAILED DUE TO NETWORK ERROR]15:38] yo ill be at egberts house for the afternoon if you need me

From rose:  
[15:59] Will you be joining us any time soon, or have you been ensnared in the wrath of your teachers wanting you to make up already missing assignments.  
[16:04] I'm going to go with the latter. Anyway, we're walking. Might even get Starbucks, too.  
[16:31] Oh God, Dave.  
[16:31] Pick up.  
[16:32] Roxy's been injured and we're going to the hospital.  
[16:33] Please pick up, Dirk's even gone back to the school to look for you.

From dirk:  
[16:19] Yo, do you want a caramel frapp or macchiato.  
[16:22] I'll just get you a frapp. Know how much you like the whipped cream.  
[16:32] Jesus fuck. Dave. You better pick up. Roxy just got hit by a car.  
[16:32] Or be at the fucking school.  
[16:34] You're not at the fucking school.

From roxy:  
[16:33] im ok

From bro:  
[16:48] Heard what happened and Im on the way to kick your absent ass  
[17:06] Wherever the fuck you are

You gulped and he did the same. "I might need a ride," he said slowly, his voice cracking.

Your dad frowned as he grew concerned and nodded. "Get your things, I'll start the car and drive you home."

"It's not home I've gotta be at," he said as he shoved his phone back in his pocket and stood up. When your dad was gone you thought you saw Dave wiping his eyes but you just silently followed him outside.


	8. gauze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i lied about it being in mostly johns pov
> 
> this chapter will be in janes
> 
> variety is key
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!

You weren't quite sure what had happened, but one moment you were ankle deep in Chinese homework and the next you were all piled in the car again. You didn't see why you had to come to drop John's friend off considering you stayed home by yourself all the time, but the atmosphere was tense as Dad drove the three of you to wherever Dave directed.

"Left," he murmured behind you.

John was absolutely silent and every time you glanced back at him he looked incredibly distraught. Maybe even guilty.

Your dad took a few more turns, and then. "Stop here."

Your heart sank when you looked out the window, because opposing what you thought would just be a house or apartment was a hospital. Oh. Oh shit.

Dave led the group inside. It wasn't so much "led" as it was that the three of you weren't willing to just leave him here. "We're here to see Roxy Lalonde," he murmured to the receptionist.

She clicked her tongue and you recognized her as a senior at your school. But you didn't say anything as she typed the name into her computer and nodded. "Third floor, room 41."

The elevator ride was tense and you were thankful that it wasn't very long. Though the closer you got to Roxy's room the more worried you got.

The second Dave opened the door he was pinned to the wall by a much taller and bulkier blond man with triangle-shaped sunglasses. You would have thought it weird if you weren't busy lifting your hands to your mouth in surprise.

"Do you know how worried we were about you? What could have happened to you?" he nearly shouted, gripping the boy by the collar of his shirt.

Dave hardly looked phased as he just murmured a "I'm sorry, Bro."

"Derek, he's fine, we should be happy that he is," a woman said as she stood behind said Bro and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Gently he put Dave down and sighed. "You're still in deep shit."

"I figured," Dave said before looking at the woman. "Thanks Mom."

She smiled sadly at him, before turning to the three of you. "Thanks for bringing him."

Your dad shook her hand. "Josh. It'd be a pleasure, under different circumstances."

"Roxane."

John was silent still until the exchange was done. "I'm so sorry, he was over at my house and I should've made sure that you all knew and it hadn't occurred to me and-"

"Sweetie, it's okay, none of this was anyone's fault," Roxane said with a warm smile before it soured. "Except maybe that asshole who hit and ran."

That seemed to lighten the atmosphere a little bit and you all peeked inside the hospital room.

The girl in the chair next to the bed which you knew as Rose Lalonde stood up when she saw the lot of you with a worried expression on her features.

The boy leaning against the wall by a window which you knew as Dirk Strider barely even acknowledged your entrances and judging by his blank expression you wondered if he was even awake.

The girl in the bed that looked like a splitting image of Roxane which you supposed was Roxy Lalonde had her right leg wrapped up in gauze, but she smiled brightly and waved at you all. "Guys, come sign my cats." She lifted a finger as she thought about her sentence for a second. "Cast."

"She's still on heavy morphine," their mom murmured, which you supposed was meant for Dave's ears. "But you should go in."

He did, going to stand by the side of the bed. "Hey Roxy."

You would have thought she would have been mad at him but she still reached over to the best of her ability to pull him into a hug. "Davey, I was so worried about you! We were gonna get you Stirbacks and everything."

He didn't bother to correct her as he hugged her back. "I was worried about you too."

She pulled back from the hug somewhat to look at you and John, still peeking in from the doorway. "C'mon in, I won't bite."

John stepped in first and you second. The door closed behind you and you realized the adults had stayed behind to talk.

Roxy pointed in John's direction. "Johnny," she said slowly, forming the name on her tongue. "Jake and Dave talk about you a lot."

He seemed surprised by that and Dave started to protest from Roxy's occupied arm when she directed her finger to you. "...Pretty girl."

Your cheeks colored in flattery and you managed a smile. "It's Jane."

Her expression brightened. "Jane Crocker?"

You nodded.

"You're Jakey's cousin too!"

"That's right," you said, somewhat surprised, but you figured you would have suspected that. She was the sister of your cousin's boyfriend. Small world.

And speaking of, not three seconds later did the door fly open with a cry of "What the devilfucking dickens happened?"

You all turned to see Jake, looking very disgruntled and winded. He'd probably ran up the two flights of stairs to get here. Jade arrived shortly after, putting her hands on her knees and tossing her hair out of her face.

Jake was surprised to see you and John, but turned to Roxy first. "Are you okay, love?"

Her expression softened and she nodded. "They're not gonna let me go home for a couple days but I feel gr-nine." A moment of silence passed. "It's more than great," she concluded.

"Well that's good. Might I ask why you two are here?" Jake glanced to you and John.

"We gave Dave a ride," John said simply. His worry seemed to have lessened by tenfold and now was stealing glances over to Dave, who was chatting with a now-very-pissed looking Rose and DIrk.

When Jake went to join the three the door opened again and your dad poked his head through. "Jane, John, we're leaving." You nodded obediently and made for the door with a little wave back to Roxy, who returned the action with much greater gusto. John was more hesitant but followed you after a longing stare at Dave.

Dad didn't speak again until you were all in the car again. "I don't want you around that Dave anymore, John."

"But Dad-"

"No, his family seems nice but they look to be a bunch of troublemakers and I don't want you getting into that."

You figured you ought to say something, none of today was their fault and you felt as if your dad was being a tad unfair. "But Jake and Jade hang out with that lot too," you pointed out, "and they're family."

"It's not my decision on who they spend time with and who they don't," Dad reasoned, "but it is with John. Like you said, I wouldn't want him getting in trouble or hurt like that girl was."

Inwardly you cringed. You didn't want to be the cause of ruining John's friendship just because you had made a poor decision before you knew him. Glancing back at your brother you saw that he was just staring at his lap and you knew that he had made up his mind.

"I won't hang out with him anymore," he murmured. "I promise."


	9. graph paper

On Friday, per your dad's orders, you tried your best to ignore Dave.

It was easy at first, the classes you had with him were more academic and you could focus on the lesson instead of replying to the two, now three, notes he sent your way. The look Jade gave you was skeptical as you told her you wouldn't be eating lunch with them. Vriska looked surprised that you wanted to eat with them, but Kanaya gave you a sympathetic smile and welcomed you to the little group they had. In English, your teacher issued a seating chart that arranged the class alphabetically and Dave was moved to a good couple rows behind you. But it didn't stop a little graph paper airplane from floating in your direction and you guiltily snatched it out of the air without so much of a glance behind you.

You stayed logged out of Pesterchum over the weekend, but it was still hard to keep from thinking about Dave and feeling just awful about it.

On Monday, Roxy Lalonde was back to school. Granted, she had to walk on crutches, but that didn't stop her from following Jane around, insistent on getting your sister's name on the cast already littered with colorful signatures and doodles. Jade asked if you were gonna skip out on joining the group for lunch again and with an ugly pit in your stomach, you told her yes.

Tuesday and Wednesday were the same, though by now you'd began to avoid both Rose and Jade in order to keep yourself from feeling even guiltier. It didn't work.

It wasn't until Rose approached you in Orchestra on Thursday that you felt even worse.

"You're eating lunch with us," she said with an air of finality, as if the possibility of saying no was unheard of.

Which you did. "I can't," you murmured as you put your piano binder in your backpack.

"And is there a reason for this? Maybe relating to last week's events?" Rose still hadn't packed up her violin and seemed insistent on getting answers from you first.

"Maybe," you replied. "And if it is? I bet Dave's in trouble too for being over at my house."

She approached you properly and it was honestly menacing as the heels she was wearing gave her a good inch of height over you. Though her face was straight, waves of pure anger were coming off of her. No, it was something else. Protectiveness.

"Even if he was, he would never ruin something so important to him like this. Maybe he's just overreacting over all of this, and maybe I am too, but I hope you realize that a friendship with Dave isn't something you should take lightly. If you're going to end it, do it properly," she warned with a grit of her teeth and another step forward.

You automatically stepped back, your hands pressing down on a few piano keys and cringing at the noise it made. Though that seemed to shock Rose out of her mood, because she stepped back and smoothed her hands over her skirt. Turning back to packing up, she cleared her throat. "I hope you can come to a decision."

Your stomach felt knotted and you knew it wouldn't go away. Maybe ever. Quickly you zipped up your backpack and tossed it over your shoulder. "I'm coming with you."

The treehouse was silent when the both of you climbed up and you saw that only Jade was there, eating a sandwich. She waved curtly when she saw you.

"Where's Dave?" Rose asked. "It's well more than ten minutes into lunch, isn't it?"

Jade jabbed her thumb in the direction of the corner of the treehouse where a red backpack laid. "He left for some reason, didn't say why."

Your heart felt like lead and you looked at your feet. You felt bad, as you were nearly certain this was your fault.

"I'll go look for him," Rose concluded.

Jade stood and shoved the rest of her sandwich in her mouth. "Me too," she said around the food.

"I'll come-" you started.

"Hold down the fort, John," Rose dismissed, and then the two of them climbed back down the ladder and were gone.

You guessed you couldn't blame them. You weren't going to be accepted back into the group so easily even if you were out of it for only a few days. And, considering the reason why, you deserved it.

You perked up at the sound of someone climbing up the later not five minutes later and you poked your head out of the treehouse with a "Did you find-"

It was Dave.

Your sentence died in your throat and you scooted over to let him in. Though he didn't seem intent on staying as he reached over to grab his backpack.

"Dave, wait," you started.

"I've done enough waiting," he snapped. You flinched. "If you didn't wanna be friends with me just say so."

"But it's not that!" you managed.

"Then what is it?" he asked stiffly. You noticed that his nose was red and you hoped it wasn't for the reason you thought it was.

"My dad," you started, "he doesn't want us to be friends because you're supposedly 'dangerous' and he doesn't want me getting in trouble."

He tensed and you couldn't blame him. "No offense, but your dad's an asshole."

"I know. He just wants what's good for me."

"I guess I get that," he said softly. He was rubbing his arm now as he took a seat on the treehouse floor.

"I still wanna be friends with you. I just can't."

"You could've just said that in the first place," he pointed out.

"That's on me, and I'm really sorry."

He fell silent and picked at his shoelaces. Slowly you crawled next to him and gave his shoulder a friendly pat. That must have done something in him to snap because before you could blink he was hugging you. You were going to push him off when you realized he was trembling slightly.

"No Dave, don't cry, come on," you said softly.

"Not crying," he denied as he hid his face into your shoulder. His shades were poking uncomfortably into your skin but you weren't about to take them off for him.

"I wanna figure something out, at least," you tried.

He didn't move. "You're not gonna go against your dad's orders are you?"

You silently resolved that yes, yes that was exactly what you were going to do. "What's the worst he's going to do, ground me?" You could feel Dave grin against you and it faded as he pulled back. His cheeks looked wet and you could feel it on your shirt too. But you didn't say anything.

"So that means."

"We're still friends?" you asked slowly.

After a moment he nodded and held up his fist. "Still friends." With a bright smile you bumped it with your own.

After lunch, on the way to English you could have sworn his hand brushed against yours, but you were silent about it save for the tiniest of grins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dave was totally going for the hand grab
> 
> and where did rose and jade disappear off to for the rest of lunch HmmmMMMhm
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!


	10. paper towels

The weeks passed peacefully. The four of you eventually became comfortable with each other again and became maybe even closer. Even if your dad wasn't aware of it. Often you would spend your "club time" watching Dave at track or occasionally meeting Jade at gardening club, and eventually Rose who had joined that club as well. A handful of times, you had all met at Jade's house for study nights or just for fun.

October was rolling around when news came up that was really shocking to you.

"We're dating," Rose announced one day.

You somehow choked on the leftover spaghetti you were eating and you heard Dave gulp beside you. "We as in?" you asked with a cough.

"Us," Jade chimed in cheerfully as she wrapped her arm around Rose's shoulders.

Your eyes swept from one girl to the other and back. And then settled on Jade as the news actually settled in, and the meaning of it. "You're gay?"

She held up her unoccupied hand to correct you. "I prefer the term 'pan,'" she said. "I never really felt like gender mattered in love."

"That's a thing?"

Dave scoffed and rested a hand on your shoulder. "John, let me educate you in the way of the queer. You got your straights, that's you. Then you got your exclusive gays, including Rose and me over here. Some people are bi, yknow they like their own gender plus another one. Since Jade's pan she prefers not to differentiate, then you got your aces who find that they don't love people like that, if at all. And even that's an umbrella."

Your head was swimming now with information and the first thing you could manage was a "You're gay?"

"What, wasn't it obvious?" he asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.

You fell silent as you thought about it. You would have thought Dave to be a ladies man considering all the girls in the class constantly gossiped about him. And you'd heard about Jade's boyfriend in seventh grade so you'd thought she was straight.

"Guess not," he said with a shrug as the wheels in your head kept turning.

Conversation between the three of them resumed to what it regularly would be, talking about the newest episode of whatever television show was on last night or complaining about the big test this week.

Your thoughts were more floating towards your own sexuality. You didn't notice Dave's hand was still on your shoulder until he moved it off, and when he did you felt. Empty.

That didn't really make sense, though. You liked girls. You've always liked girls. They were pretty and you've always seen yourself dating a girl (even though you haven't yet). But. Boys. Boys weren't really your thing, were they?

You thought about the different boys you knew. Jake was your cousin, so no. You didn't know Karkat for very long but you didn't think you could ever have a relationship with the guy. And same with Tavros. So maybe you were just straight.

You glanced at Dave and when your heart fluttered a little you swallowed thickly.

Oh.

Oh god.

"I have to use the bathroom," you said weakly as you stood up straight and climbed down the treehouse ladder. The three of them waved.

Your face was red when you finally got to the bathroom and you were grateful that no one else was there. Quickly you took off your glasses and splashed some water on your face. When you dried it with a paper towel and looked in the mirror, your blurry face looked a lot less red than before.

But your heart still pounded as you thought about your predicament.

Dave was the first friend you'd made in high school, so of course you were going to feel at least some sort of attachment to him. But surely it was normal to feel giddy every time you two came into physical contact, right? Even the little ones like a high five or when your legs brush when you're sitting together. Or the rare big ones where he hugs you or you give him a piggy back ride, which have been becoming less and less rare.

You refused to look at Dave when you came back and you doubted he noticed. It was hard to keep the blush off your face but you think you managed.

When you all departed for your next class, you saw the girls holding hands and with a sinking feeling in your stomach you realized that you wanted to hold Dave's too. Which was really hard in your opinion, considering the both of you had to walk all the way across campus to get to Geography.

Your willpower was able to hold and before you knew it you were sitting in class and you were all working on your projects. Dave tossed over some complaints about his subject to you and you tried to do the same, but luckily most of the period was spent actually researching.

After departing for your last class, you didn't talk to Dave again for the rest of the day. You weren't sure if you were relieved or disappointed.

The first thing you did when you got home was check your computer. Dave wasn't online as you'd suspected, but someone else was.

ectoBiologist began pestering tentacleTherapist at 15:43.  
EB: can we talk?  
TT: That depends on what, I guess. But I'll gladly listen.  
EB: okay, well.  
EB: i think i like dave.  
TT: Like as in?  
EB: in the gay way.

Your heart was pounding and admitting it, even if it wasn't out loud, made it seem even more concrete.

TT: Does this have anything to do with Jade and I?  
TT: If you have a problem with it I wouldn't put it against you.  
EB: it's not that!  
EB: well it kind of is.  
EB: but not in the way you think.  
TT: Go on.  
EB: just seeing you guys and hearing about all this straight and gay stuff made me think about myself?  
EB: i always thought i was straight and then i looked at dave and.  
TT: I'm going to add here that it's perfectly normal for someone to wiggle through the cracks of one's sexuality.  
TT: I think someone once defined it as "heteroflexibility"?  
TT: The definition being on one of those online dictionary sites if I recall correctly.

Quickly you searched the term, one of the sites that came up defining it as "I'm straight, but shit happens." You couldn't help but smile and sigh a little in relief.

EB: i think that's me.  
TT: You don't always have to fit into a label either. For some people it gets really confusing.  
TT: But I'm glad we've come to a conclusion about that.  
TT: About Dave, however, I don't think that's a conversation you need to have with me.  
EB: are you saying i need to talk to HIM?  
EB: rose i can't do that!  
TT: I don't see a problem with it.  
EB: just because you and jade worked out doesn't mean that it will with me and dave and i don't wanna have to deal with that.  
TT: John.  
EB: i mean, that's just embarrassing and he'll probably turn me down anyway.  
TT: Don't be so quick to think that way.  
TT: I'm not going to force you into anything but it won't hurt to give it a shot.  
EB: thanks for the support but i'm going to have to pass.  
EB: i know i'm gonna have to tell him eventually, right?  
EB: i just don't know if i can do that now.  
TT: Fair enough.

A glance to your friends online list showed that Dave had logged in. You didn't think you could even hold a regular conversation with him.

EB: i'm gonna go.  
EB: but i'll talk to you later!  
TT: See you.  
EB: and really. thanks.  
TT: I'm glad to help.

Quickly you logged out. You didn't feel like using the computer for anything else so you just kinda flopped back onto your bed. Staring at the ceiling wasn't going to do anything, and you found yourself glancing at your pet salamander's tank. Casey was nowhere to be seen and you figured she was sleeping. She was nocturnal for the most part after all.

You grabbed your pillow out from under your head and yelled into it. You really hoped you would be better about this tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> therE IT IS THERE IT FUCKING IS
> 
> also im laughing really hard because the word count for this chapter is 1413
> 
> i kinda rushed this chapter to celebrate 10 chapters, 1000+hits and 10000+ words haha
> 
> can we get to 100 kudos and comments?? probably
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!


	11. bandages

"Shit!"

You and the girls glanced over to Dave who's finger had began bleeding. "I don't get how you don't do this without stabbing yourself every time," he complained before sticking his finger in his mouth. The three of you laughed as you got up to fetch him a bandage.

With Halloween right around the corner, Rose had suggested the brilliant idea of making your own costumes at her place since you didn't want to spend a zillion dollars on whatever you wanted to be. Plus she already had so much material at home that she didn't have any plans for. Your dad was reluctant to let you come over but after some pleading, he let you.

Jade was going as a dog this year. Not even the sexy kind, as the idea she had for her costume ended up being more in the fashion of a onesie. Or kigur-something as Dave had said. You all agreed it was adorable and you were glad she was breaking her streak of being a witch six years in a row.

When Rose decided to match with the whole animal idea and be a cat, you and Dave had caved in and decided to be a bunny and bird, respectively. When Dave had joked that you should be a playboy bunny instead you laughed with him to hide how bad you were blushing at that.

"Yo, earth to playboy."

You blinked to realize that Dave was snapping his fingers in your face and that you'd been standing in the kitchen and clutching the box of band-aids as you'd gotten lost in your thoughts.

"You were taking so long it'd be better if I had just gotten it myself," he said.

"Sorry," you replied. Hurriedly you took out a band-aid, took his hand, and wrapped it around his finger. "There."

He didn't pull his hand away immediately, and when he did it was slow and to look at his finger. "Good enough."

You smiled down at him and fought off the urge to grab his hand again. "Come on, I'll help you try on your wings."

* * *

A haunted house. Fucking Jake wanted you all to go into a haunted house that looked like it could definitely make you piss your pants.

You didn't even want Dirk's gang to tag along trick or treating but the four of you needed "chaperons" as your mom had put it. As if you and Rose weren't already used to spending a lot of time alone.

Still it meant that John could join you and you decided that it was worth it. His sister had tagged along and now it was eight of you roaming the streets of the city for free candy.

You were glad Jade had come up with the idea of wearing kigurumis because it was starting to get cold. The harness Rose had designed for your wings was slipping and as you slid it back you really hoped it wouldn't be a problem.

At least the haunted house was free. You didn't want to pay a dime just so you could have a heart attack.

Since the hallways were narrow they made you go in groups of two. Before he could protest you stuck to John's side.

Dirk went with Jake and Rose with Jade, no surprise there, which left Jane to go with Roxy. You and John were the last to enter and the wait was agony.

It was much darker than you were used to and you considered taking off your shades. But the last thing you wanted to do was freak John out with your freaky mutated eye color.

Silently you slipped them off and into your pillowcase full of candy and you awarded yourself for your brilliant stealth.

And then something creaked and you inched closer to John.

"What, are you scared?" he asked.

You couldn't see his grin in the dark and instead could hear it but by now you were too paranoid to give him a witty reply. "Yeah."

Your hand brushed against his and you hadn't realized how close you had gotten to him. You could grab it and hold it, it would be a valid excuse wouldn't it?

A cheezy looking skeleton popped out from the floor and you wondered why the scream sound effect sounded so shitty.

No wait. The screaming was you. It also registered that you were now clinging to John's arm.

You could hear him laugh and you swatted him as you reluctantly pulled away. "Shut the fuck up, it's not funny."

When he calmed down you continued down the hallway, now hyperaware of everything in the house. When it led to a flight of stairs a dead body fell down it.

You would have thought to tell that body about those stairs bro but you were too busy clinging to John again. At least you weren't screaming.

"You can hold me if you want," John teased. There was a hint of truth in his voice, or it was probably just you, so you didn't let go as the two of you climbed the stairs. A few scares later and the idea of letting go of him didn't even cross your mind.

When the house spit the two of you out into the backyard a guy in skeleton face paint gave you and John a giant candy bar, one for each of you.

"Did you guys make the house?" John asked beside you.

The girl next to him was dressed like a sexy cat and you could swear that she purred when she answered him. "Yup! We made sure each and every detail was to purrfection."

The rest of the group was nowhere to be seen as you got back to the street and your stomach felt like a rock when you realized that they'd ditched you.

"Where are they?" you asked.

"I don't." John stopped when he looked at you.

You stared back until you realized that your shades were still off. "Shit, fuck, I." You shut your eyes and reached into your candy bag to try and find your shades.

"Dave, it's fine," he promised as he stopped you by grabbing your wrists. "It's fine and it's dark out anyway so it'd be hard to see with them on."

Slowly you opened your eyes again to look up at him. "Thanks," you said slowly. Then you found yourself leaning up towards him and he wasn't stopping you and his eyes drooped and _why_ wasn't he stopping you and you were on your tippy toes and then-

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHAHAH HA. AHA. HA. HAHAH. STAY TUNED.
> 
> also im gonna draw a thing for this chapter even though im terrible at it so 
> 
>  itll also be on tumblr because i want to fill the tag with pretty things
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!


	12. paper bags

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cliffhangers are my lifeblood
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!

Dave was leaning up towards you and you weren't going to stop him and your eyes drooped a little and why was he getting so close and you were near puckering your lips and then-

"Dave! John!" That was Jade's voice.

Your face flushed and Dave stepped back down. Your eyes were wide and you stared at him. Was he going to kiss you? Instead of looking back at you he found his shades and slid them back on. You felt bad.

"There's something on your face," he said as he flicked your nose. "Got it."

Your heart felt heavy. Oh. Duh.

Jade ran up to the both of you with a smile. "You guys took forever. We decided to hit a few more houses before looping around." Behind her, Jake followed then Rose then Dirk and finally Roxy and Jane. "Anyway everyone's signing off for the night so we should be getting back too," she advised.

Everyone else agreed and before you knew it everyone was back at Jade and Jake's residence. Jane got permission for the both of you to sleep over and after a call to their parents, so did the rest of them.

The next ten minutes ended up being an intense debate on whether or not you were going to watch horror movies. It was evenly split, as you, Jade, Jake, and Roxy wanted to watch horror movies while Dave, Rose, Dirk, and Jane were strongly against it. Eventually the four of them gave up and with high fives all around Roxy went to make popcorn.

Dave and Rose spilled out their candy onto the floor and started trading, Dave giving her all of his Almond Joys if it meant that she would surrender her Twizzlers. It looked like they had a good system.

You on the other hand dumped out your candy and sorted out whatever had peanuts in it. Allergies were a bitch.

"Don't like nuts, John?" Dave asked you. With a grin he grabbed a pack of Peanut M&Ms and started eating them. Jade reached over and snatched a Crunch bar.

"Just peanuts. Allergies and all," you said, keeping your eyes trained on your piles of candy. You could barely look at him without exploding into blush and you hoped he wouldn't ask why.

You ended up zipping down the top half of your onesie and tying it around the waist. You had on a white t-shirt underneath per your dad's advice but now you had gotten a little overheated.

Though you didn't know why Dad had insisted you wear the shirt if he had let Jane out of the house in that French maid uniform. To be fair she was two years older than you and the outfit was cute and not ridiculously revealing, but still.

Roxy had gone as the Cheshire Cat(what was with these girls and cats, you wondered), Jake as James Bond and Dirk as some anime character that gave him a perfect excuse to wear his triangle-shaped glasses. Though it seemed as if everyone had shed some part of their costume when you all got back in hopes of getting comfortable.

Jake popped in whatever movie he had decided was the scariest movie and Roxy returned with near ginormous paper bags of popcorn.

The girls took claim over most of the couch and even with Dirk and Jake sharing the recliner, there was still barely any space. So you took the floor and Dave joined you. Apparently, Jake's decision on the movie was spot on because in a half hour, you all had gone from skeptical to terrified. This time you were the one to cling to Dave.

To be fair he was clinging back but still. The movie was pretty fucking scary. You found yourself finishing off the popcorn rather quickly, and had moved on to snacking on your candy. It helped, at least.

The end of the movie was shocking and it left you scared shitless. Dave was even trembling, you think. Looking back at everyone else you saw that Rose had shifted to Jade's lap and was getting her hair pet by the latter. Jane looked very shaken up while Roxy promised her a less scary movie as she winked, and. Dirk and Jake were asleep.

Despite Roxy's wanting another horror movie, you had all vetoed against her and instead settled for some children's Halloween movie from the 90s. You went for a refill on popcorn and was confused to see that Dave had followed.

"It's dark," he reasoned and you didn't bother to correct him and say that the girls were still up and could protect him from whatever monster was lurking in the shadows. Or that, if it was so dark, why he wouldn't take his glasses off. But you stayed silent.

Your stomach turned at the memory of how he had almost kissed you. Or at least what you had hoped would be a kiss. Faintly your cheeks colored and you looked down as you grabbed one of the remaining bags of popcorn that Roxy had made. He followed you back out to the living room and with a shiver you zipped back up your onesie.

The movie was hardly scary this time and by now your eyes were drooping. Briefly you wondered what time it was as you tried to stay awake. With a handful of popcorn you glanced back to the couch. All four of the girls were asleep.

Slowly you looked over at Dave. You could tell he was looking at you even though he was facing the screen and quickly you looked away. And back. And away again.

"Something up?" he asked quietly. Oh god you could just die now.

"Nope, nothing." You stuffed another handful of your popcorn into your mouth and hugged your knees. There was now a good foot of space between you.

Well, not anymore. Dave scooted up to you and leaned against your shoulder. "Dude, it's not like I'm gonna tell anyone. I'm good at keeping secrets."

"It's nothing!" you insisted. Your voice had rose a little and you dropped it back to a murmur so you wouldn't wake anyone. "Really, it's not anything."

He sighed and shifted so he could plop his head down in your lap. He'd taken his wings off and you wondered when. "If you say so," he said. His face was stoic as ever but there was a defeated tone to his voice.

You faked a smile before looking back at the movie. After a while you glanced back down to see that Dave was asleep.

You yourself didn't sleep for long after the movie had ended and when you did it was with the title screen's monotonous music playing over and over in your head.


	13. dollar bills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is from jades pov yeehaw(JADEROSE 4 LYFE)
> 
> im also writing a jaderose fanfiction. not as long as this one by a long shot oh no but it'll still be a high school au aha
> 
> different au but you know you can never have too many high school aus
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!

gardenGnostic began pestering ectoBiologist at 11:27.  
GG: ok so i know that me and jake are gonna spend thursday with you guys anyway  
GG: but i wanted to have a little thanksgiving party with the strilondes!  
EB: strilondes?  
GG: my gf and your bf ;)  
EB: oh that makes  
EB: wait dave isn't my boyfriend!  
GG: oh come on!! its so obvious that you like him  
GG: i mean you guys are always having your arms around each other and you cant tell me you dont like carrying him  
GG: you get the same look on your face every single time you pick him up  
GG: and let me tell you thats not plain ol platonic!  
EB: rose told you didn't she.  
GG: yup  
GG: john this is pure genetics at work here  
GG: i love rose sooo much  
GG: and jake is always talking about dirk so ;D  
EB: that means nothing!  
EB: sure dave is gay but that doesn't mean he likes me back.  
EB: and no matter what if i tried to tell him i think i would puke i'd be so nervous.  
EB: and dad still doesn't know we're still friends so there's that.  
GG: oh right  
GG: damn  
GG: then i guess secret dating is out of the question??  
EB: yeah i would never.

You blew a raspberry and spun around in your computer desk chair. Rose said she wouldn't meddle but you couldn't NOT play matchmaker. John and Dave were meant to be you just knew it. Unfortunately, neither of them did. You would always catch Dave looking at John when he wasn't looking back and the other way around. Once you even swore he was trying to hold John's hand on the way to class before chickening out like a loser. You had to fix this and fast.

GG: im still inviting them to my place on wednesday  
GG: and if you wanna see dave then you can come too ;P  
EB: jade you're laying it way too heavy on the winky faces.  
GG: :(  
EB: and i was gonna come anyway whether or not it's for dave.  
EB: you guys are my friends!  
GG: :D  
EB: and friends come before boyfriends.  
GG: oh so close  
GG: anyway dress nice and bring a snack  
GG: because potlucks and stuff!!  
EB: oh that's a good idea. i'll bring something then yeah.

Your computer dinged with the sound of a new conversation and you opened the window.

tentacleTherapist began pestering gardenGnostic at 11:42.  
TT: Are you free any time this week?

Perfect.

GG: actually i was gonna invite you and dave to a thanksgiving party on wednesday!  
GG: you wanna come??  
TT: I meant on a date, but yes that does sound fun too.  
TT: I didn't think Thanksgiving parties were a thing?  
GG: pfffff  
GG: they are now ok  
GG: we can cuddle and stuff after eating while the boys are just flustered losers around each other  
GG: and then we can do something this weekend just the two of us  
TT: Oh man. You drive a hard bargain.  
TT: But that sounds fun.  
GG: :D tell dave too  
TT: Got it.  
TT: I expect lots of cuddles?  
GG: all the cuddles  
TT: All of them.  
TT: And this weekend we can go see that action movie coming out.  
GG: i fucking love you  
TT: Love you too.  
TT: <3

This had you grinning so wide that you had to push back from your computer to kick your legs and giggle. She made you so giddy and your heart so fluttery .You loved her so much. Jake was calling you from downstairs for lunch so you grabbed your tablet so you could still talk.

Having more than one computer on you was essential to you.

GG: <3!!!  
GG: dont forget to wear something pretty  
TT: For our date or for the party?  
GG: both  
GG: really no matter what you wear youll still be pretty  
TT: You flatter me.  
GG: i speak the truth!!

turntechGodhead began pestering gardenGnostic at 12:06.  
TG: whats this i hear about a party  
GG: its a thanksgiving party!!  
GG: with food and everything  
TG: im in  
GG: yessss  
GG: johns coming too in case you were wondering  
TG: i thought he would be  
GG: or maybe  
GG: you hoped he would be ;)  
TG: dont you winky face me

GG: strilondes are confirmed for wednesday  
EB: oh cool.  
EB: what should i wear that would be considered 'nice?'  
GG: dunno  
GG: not a tshirt and khakis  
EB: jade that's my entire wardrobe.  
GG: i know  
GG: its not that hard to find good clothes for cheap though

You set down your tablet to grab your sandwich. When your eye caught the $20 bill next to your plate you glanced over at Jake who was doing dishes. "Uh, Jake? Allowance day isn't till Friday."

"No, that's for the bet," Jake replied without looking up. "Dirk told me that Dave's head over heels."

You bounced in your seat. You knew it. You knew it you knew it you knew it and you picked up your tablet to tell John and.

Shit. He went offline.

You reply to Dave instead.

GG: a little bird just told me something  
TG: the little bird is spewing lies jade  
TG: its just propaganda and you know it  
TG: soon enough youll join the enemy convinced of all these lies  
TG: i cant lose you like this  
GG: you liiiiiike john  
TG: dear god i can literally read your smirk  
TG: and so what hes straight as a ruler  
GG: is he?  
GG: is he really dave  
TG: do chickens lay eggs  
GG: not all of them!!  
TG: okay well  
TG: shut up  
TG: i got this okay  
TG: and if you tell him ill kill you  
TG: slowly and painfully  
TG: then the little bird will have some deep shit to tell people  
GG: but  
TG: not a word to him got it  
GG: :(  
GG: fine you poophead  
GG: but only because it means that i get to call you a poophead  
TG: you would call me that anyway  
GG: haha yeah

You finished off your sandwich and thought. Oh you would have things to plan for Wednesday.

All the things.


	14. sticky notes

You looked yourself over in the mirror. Then again. Any attempts you had made at fixing your regularly unruly hair were unsuccessful and with a sigh you just left it. The fanciest shirt you could find was a navy button-down and luckily your dad let you borrow a pair of his old white slacks. Even luckier, they fit you.

As for what food you could bring you made a bowl of mashed potatoes, enough for the four of you but not too much, after all Thanksgiving wasn't actually until tomorrow.

Your dad dropped you off at Jade's house a little after noon and told you to call him when you were done.

"Well John, you clean up so nice."

Your face brightened a little when an older man opened the door and you greeted him. "Hi Grandpa!"

The British man wasn't really your grandpa, as he was Jade and Jake's grandfather on their mother's side, and you were related to them by their father, but you called him grandpa all the same. It was less awkward than to call him Jacob. Since both he and your grandma travel a lot for work, even taking Jade and Jake with them half the time, it's uncommon that you would see them at all. He let you inside with a mirrored smile and directed you with "Jade's in the kitchen."

You were surprised to see that Jade was actually, well. Using the kitchen. You knew Jake did most of the cooking in their household. Due to her childhood narcolepsy, she couldn't be trusted around a stove and as she grew up and it became less of a problem, it was just habit to leave the kitchen as Jake's territory. So seeing her twirl around the kitchen(to music, even) in an apron was a sight indeed.

"Uh, Jade?" you asked as you set down the bowl of mashed potatoes you had brought. "What're you doing?"

Your cousin perked up and turned the volume of her phone down so the music was much quieter. "Hi John! I was making a thing of stuffing and some brussels sprouts too but I got a little distracted."

"No kidding," you replied, then stuck out your tongue. "And really, brussels sprouts?"

"Freshly grown!" she said proudly. While she liked to garden flowers more she occasionally helped Jake with growing vegetables. "And I found a recipe that doesn't make them completely gross."

You decided to put your trust in her as she wipes her hands on her apron and slips it off. Underneath you could see that she was wearing a pretty dark green dress. "When are Dave and Rose getting here?" you asked.

The doorbell interrupted Jade before she could answer. "I would say around now." She grinned and bundled up her apron.

Rose was dressed in a lavender blouse and a white skirt and Dave had on a white button down tee and black slacks, and a red tie to top it off. While he was also carrying a bowl of green beans, he was soon cradling a platter of cranberry sauce as well as Rose hugged Jade on her way inside. You gave Dave an apologetic smile.

"Oh yeah," Jade piped up on her way back to the kitchen. "I gotta set the table."

"I can do that," you offered. You knew where all the plates and silverware were anyway.

"I'll help too," Dave said after setting down his platters. Jade smiled at him in a way that you couldn't quite put your finger on.

The dining room table was covered in mathematical equations that you figured were your grandma's and it made your head spin. You put all of the papers aside as neatly as you could. A fresh stack of sticky notes caught your eye and with a grin you stuck one onto Dave's glasses before he could stop you.

He made a satisfying whining sound before peeling it off. "Asshole, these leave smears you know."

"Fine." You stuck one on his nose instead.

He snatched the sticky notes from you with a mumble of "Well, you know what?" and stuck one on each of the lenses of your glasses. You were helpless to stop him as you were laughing now and you blindly stuck one into his mouth. He stuck one back.

Through your laughter you took them off. "Come on, we should set the table." You stepped closer to Dave to help him out with his and when he glanced at you over the tops of his shades your heart thudded in your chest.

...You could kiss him right now. You could kiss him and you would finally smooth out this massive ridiculous crush and oh he was walking around to the other side of the table oh dear.

You cleared your throat, man you felt warm dressed like this but you wouldn't dare undo any of the buttons on your shirt. You distracted yourself by grabbing enough silverware for the four of you and setting them accordingly. Dave put down the plates and you went back to the kitchen to grab some glasses.

Just in time to see Rose and Jade swapping spit.

"Gross, guys!" You stuck out your tongue and they pulled away with mirrored embarrassed expressions on their faces. You loaded your hands with four glasses, but managed to hold them all.

"You're just jealous," Jade said with a smirk.

You almost dropped said glasses and glanced back to the dining room, where Dave was. "I am not!" you hissed.

"You sooo are," she replied, her voice getting singsong like as she dragged out her words.

"I'm not!" you insisted.

"Admit that you wanna kiss Dave!"

"No!"

"You know you waaannaa!"

"I don't!"

"Don't wanna what?"

You all turned to see Dave leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.

"He wants to k-"

You slapped your hand over Jade's mouth before she could finish her sentence. Luckily in your argument you had set the glasses down. "No, it's nothing let's just set the table ahaha."

He raised an eyebrow and you were going to say something else when Jade licked your hand to get it off. It succeeded as you drew your hand away with a "gross, Jade!" and wiped it on her arm.

After calming down and actually getting everything on the table, you all were seated with Jade across from you and Rose to her left and Dave to your right. None of you wanted to take the heads of the table because it was so long and would make serving things twice more difficult than it needed to be.

Through your food you all swapped stories about anything exciting that had happened in the past week and you nearly choked twice on your mashed potatoes from laughing so much.

True to Jade's word the brussels sprouts weren't bad and compared to the mushy bland bullshit you were haunted with as a child, the dish was delicious and even had chopped up bacon bits in it.

When you were all stuffed(but not _too_ stuffed in the case of tomorrow), Jade decided that she could clean up later and you all crashed on the couch to play a relaxing video game.

Of Mario Kart.

With barely a peep, Rose would get Rosalina to first place every time.

You and Jade on the other hand made the perfect tag team with Toad and Yoshi. Since you knew you didn't have a chance against Rose it was more fun to fuck up the race for everyone else. Including Dave. Especially Dave.

It was amazing how he could go from one second murmuring a "You got this Luigi you green son of a bitch," to screeching and nearly throwing his controller when "Motherfucker John, that's the _third_ goddamn red shell!"

You nearly couldn't stop laughing and you didn't realize how late it had gotten until the doorbell was ringing. You had somehow ended up with your head in Dave's lap and despite his occasional frustrated thrashing from losing, it was. Really nice.

Until you saw your dad step into the living room. And frown.

Quickly you sat up, causing you to hit your head against Dave's chin and you even heard his teeth clack together in his mouth. "Dad-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i lied about submitting this yesterday since my english project is due tomorrow and welp i couldnt not work on it
> 
> my creative juices are dwindling because of it too and hopefully it doesnt show through this chapter
> 
> and yes my mom makes brussels sprouts that are sooo good its like fucking heaven up in this bitch(edit i had them confused with cabbages but i went back and fixed it yeehaw)
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!


	15. price tags

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guESS WHAAAAAAAAT
> 
> ITS TIME FOR ALPHA KIDS
> 
> AHAHAHAHHHHHHHHAAAAHAHAHAH
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!

"Uuuuuuuuuugh."

You groaned and bonked your head against the door. "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuughhhhhhhhh."

You could hear grumbling from the other side and a second later it opened. "Roxy, what the fuck do you want now? I'm in the middle of a project."

You pouted at Dirk. He was missing his shades but that was a given considering how dark he kept his room. "I'm boooored."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Go on a double date with me and Jane."

He raised his eyebrow at that. "I didn't think you two were a thing?"

"Not yet," you replied with a sly grin. "But just you wait Dirky cause I've got this in the bag."

You liked Jane. You REALLY liked Jane. She was really nice and tolerant of you which you couldn't say about a lot of your past relationships. Sure you were taller than her but she was much skinnier than you. Sure you loved your body but Jane was just so small and petite and you loved her. But no matter how obvious you tried to make your intentions show, she was clueless to your romantic advances.

Dirk sighed and retreated back into his room. "Give me like five minutes."

You squealed happily and made your way back to your own room. Granted you had to limp a little(your leg was still weak from getting your cast off a month ago) but when you seated yourself at your computer your fingers were flying.

tipsyGnostalgic began pestering golgothasTerror at 11:05.  
TG: how does a double date sound to u  
TG: like in an hour at the mall  
GT: Well, im to help jade cook lunch for her friends.  
GT: But if i get her used to the basics i think i would be able to go!  
GT: Our grandfather is home so its not like leaving her alone is complete bollocks.  
TG: hehe bollocks  
TG: oh yeah bc of her marcolepsey or whatever???  
GT: Narcolepsy, yes.  
GT: Luckily it isnt as severe as it was when she was young but shell still fall asleep at the oddest of times!  
GT: Most recently she was knocked out with her face deep in soup.  
GT: Which was fortunately cooled but still! She got noodles up her nose.  
TG: haha oh man shes awesome  
TG: also do u know if jane has a pesterchum  
GT: As a matter of fact i think she does!  
GT: Yes, shes on idle right now but logged in all the same.  
TG: whats her handle  
GT: gutsyGumshoe.  
TG: yesss thank you thank u thank u  
GT: Anytime! 

tipsyGnostalgic began pestering gutsyGumshoe at 11:12.  
TG: ok ok now hear me out on this  
TG: how does a premature christmas shopping trip sound to u  
GG: Who is this?  
TG: oh thats right  
TG: its your friendly neightborhood lalonde  
TG: *fuck neighborhood  
GG: Of course.  
TG: and no i totally did NOT do any special hackings to get ur handle  
TG: even tho that would be super badass and level up worthy  
GG: Then you got it from...?  
TG: jake  
GG: Right.  
TG: anyway what do u say  
TG: its not like itll be just us i mean dirks coming duh  
TG: and jake too if jade doesnt need him too much  
TG: which she wont but whatev  
GG: I guess that would be all right.  
GG: I need to get birthday presesnts for Jake and Jade anyway.  
TG: oh rlly whens their birthdays  
GG: Pretty soon, they share one on the first.  
TG: o thats super soon  
TG: mines on the 4th btw ;)  
GG: Good to know.  
GG: Okay, and when would this shopping trip be?  
TG: noonish at the mall  
GG: Today?  
TG: ye  
GG: Well. Alright. I would have thought Friday would be better because of sales and all?  
TG: naw thered be crowds and shit and dirk doesnt like that  
GG: When would "noonish," be, exactly?  
TG: a lil after noon but not like a whole half hour  
TG: anyway ill see you!! 

This was perfect. Quickly you changed from your flannel pajamas to a pastel pink sweater and black pencil skirt. Technically the pencil skirt was Rose's but she let you borrow her clothes all the time. You said she could do the same when she wanted but for some reason she never took anything.

Twenty minutes later and you were on the back of Dirk's motorcycle with the two of you speeding down to the local mall. He didn't drive the thing often since school was only a fifteen minute walk away but when he did it was to some robotics tournament or convention, and you always insisted to come. Sure he always turned you down but this time you had a reason to ride the bike with your brother. You loved it.

You two were the first to get there. You liked it that way because it meant that the people who showed up after you wouldn't have to wait around for you to get there. To be fair the waiting wasn't that long, as Jake got there five minutes later and Jane five minutes after that. Approximately. It wasn't like you were keeping track or anything.

Much to the boys' complaint you dragged them all to a clothing store first to get you all matching Christmas sweaters. When you decided that you had found the ugliest ones you could find you all tried them on.

Yours was red and had a reindeer on it that would sing static-like Christmas songs when you pressed its nose. Jane's was white with blue snowflakes haphazardly scattered about it. Jake's was dark green and had shiny ornaments sewn over it and Dirk's was brown with a knockoff image of Frosty the snowman plastered in the middle.

He insisted it was ironic but you could tell he loved it and hated it at the same time.

Which you guessed was actual irony? You didn't know what irony really was.

Upon checking the price tags you were delighted to see they all only cost fifteen dollars so you all paid for your own.

The next store you all hit was a toy store. Jake insisted it was childish to get each other toys but you and Dirk shut him down when you insisted there was Pokemon merchandise in there and Dirk was positive they restocked figures from one of his favorite animes. Jane ended up getting a fake moustache(her third one, you're told) and Jake found a pair of matching Nerf guns that he fell in love with. You could have died of happiness when you found a Pumpkaboo plushie and you were getting the same vibes from Dirk when he picked up a figurine box labeled "Rebellion Homura."

After that the four of you split up and promised to meet up at the food court afterwards. You had wanted to go with Jane but Dirk sent Jake with you with murmurs that he had to get him something special. With a wink you take your brother's boyfriend by the arm and led him to the nearest GameStop.

"What does Jane like?" you asked after getting a couple of new styluses for your 3DS. They keep breaking or getting lost and man are they expensive.

"Detectives," he started, looking over each first person shooter game that to you were all the same, save for all the varying graphics. "Puzzles, pranks, cooking."

"Cooking?" You raised your eyebrow because you could definitely work with that.

"Baking, mostly, but I know she loves nearly every recipe you could throw at her."

Perfect.

After getting your styluses and after Jake decided he didn't need any of those games you headed to the cooking store across the way. Jake looked at you funny when you plucked a Valentines-themed cookbook from the clearance pile. "It's called a joke gift," you said. "I'm getting her two gifts to show how much I love her."

"She doesn't even know you love her," he reminded you.

"Not yet," you replied as you rounded the corner. And stopped.

Because Jane was there staring up at you with the reddest face you'd ever seen. Dirk came around behind her a second later and raised an eyebrow over his shades.

"You... love me?" she asked slowly.

You were speechless because you didn't want her to find out like this but you could work with this. After thinking for a second your shocked expression turned into a sly one.

"Well duh, after all you're my bestest gal in the whole wide world. And I loooooooove you." When you dragged out the word "love" you stepped even closer and her face got even redder. Another step later and you were leaning down to peck her cheek.

You heard her murmur a "I love you too," and then she was kissing you and you would have squealed if you were watching this unfold as opposed to being a part of it. Her lips were soft, really soft and when she pulled away her lips were darker thanks to your lipstick.

"Congrats," Dirk said from behind Jane. You could practically hear him rolling his eyes but you ignored him as you wrapped an arm around Jane's shoulders.

"Dirk, you're just jealous that Jane is so much cuter than Jake," you replied.

Jane's face got darker at that and Dirk made a "pshh" sound. "She's still not my type. Jake's the cutest guy I know."

You both knew you were only doing this to make your respective love interests flustered but Jake piped up from behind you.

"Now that's poppycock Dirk, you're much cuter than I am!"

Dirk's cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink and he coughed. "Yeah sure whatever."

You laughed and after buying your cookbook for Jane you all made your way towards the food court.

And Jane held your hand.


	16. lists

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20K+ WORDS AND 100+ COMMENTS WE DID IT GUYS I LOVE YOU ALL
> 
> ALSO IF YOU HAVENT YET GO LOOK AT MY SHITTY ART IN CHAPTER 11. THAT WONT BE THE LAST TIME I DO THAT
> 
> this chapter is really long cause i couldnt find a good place to end it im sorry
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!

You sat up from Dave's lap, causing you to hit your head against his chin and you even heard his teeth clack together in his mouth. "Dad-"

"We're leaving, John." His arms were crossed over his chest and it was obvious he wasn't going to move until you did. It was then you noticed that Jane was with him too.

"But Dad, I-"

"No, you know exactly what I told you to do and yet here you are."

Jade set down her controller and untangled herself from Rose. Both she and Dave were silent but your cousin still spoke to defend you. "They're not as bad as you think! You're just a little misinformed from what John's said!"

"Misinformed?" Oh boy that was the wrong thing to say. "I think a girl getting her leg broken and a boy nearly getting beaten by his father wouldn't be misinformation." From behind him, Jane stared down at her feet and rubbed her wrist with her hand in worry.

"It wasn't her fault!" you argued. Your throat was getting tight and you swallowed before continuing, "And it's not like he can't fight back."

"It's true," Dave said softly. Looking at his expression made your throat get tighter as he was staring down at his lap.

Your dad didn't look convinced and you spoke again. "They're not bad. Dave's not bad. I like being his friend and I don't wanna stop."

After a very tense moment he sighed. "I'm not happy, John. But I really can't stop you, can I?"

You could feel a weight leave your heart and you nodded. "I'll prove to you Dave is good."

"We still have to leave, though. I can't stop you from being friends with him but you're still in trouble." With that he turned and left.

You got up slowly and looked at the three of them. "Bye, guys."

They gave you hopeful looks. Well, Jade did. Rose's expression was more sympathetic and Dave's was expectedly blank. "I'll see you tomorrow," Jade said.

Jane walked with you to the car. She seemed different somehow, you would have said happier if it wasn't for the tension in the air.

It wasn't until you were halfway home that you found out why.

"To be fair, Dad, I'm dating Roxy."

He nearly swerved the car. "Since when?!"

"Today."

That got your head spinning. You and Dave were now the only two of your collective siblings that were not together. But you couldn't just  _say_ that you liked him. God no. Thinking about Dave made your heart fluttery sure but confessing to him, yeesh.

But wow. You didn't even think Jane was queer. Though lately, it seems as though everyone you thought was straight isn't.

"You didn't tell me about this?" your dad said, glancing at her. He then voiced your thoughts by adding, "You didn't even say you were..."

"I'm bisexual," she said quietly.

"...Ah." After that the car got silent and you stared down at your lap. You should have said something too but you couldn't come up with any words.

And it wasn't until you got home that you had to. Dad sat you down on the couch and before he could stop her, Jane retreated upstairs. So much for moral support.

"Like I said, I'm not going to stop you if you decide to be friends with Dave," your dad started, "But since you did go against what I said we're gonna have to figure out a punishment."

"How severe of a punishment are we talking here?" you asked slowly.

"It's not that big of a deal, but since I want you to learn a lesson you're gonna have to do some chores for me."

Visibly you relaxed. You didn't like chores but it wasn't as if you hated them with a passion like you knew a lot of people did. "Like?"

"I'll have to figure that out. But it'll be a lot." Dad sat down next to you. "I do want you to have friends, John. You know that?"

You nodded.

"If Jane is dating one of them, as well as your cousins, well. They can't be that bad of a family." His expression softened. "I just don't want you getting hurt."

"If I do get hurt, it won't be because of them," you promised.

He sighed, running a hand through his graying hair. He was getting old, you noticed, and in a few years both you and Jane would be out of the house and he would be. Alone. You could see where he was coming from.

You glanced down at your hands in your lap. You swallowed, trying to put your next thought into words. "What do you think about the whole. Gay thing?"

"You mean with Jane?" he asked. Relieved, you nodded. "It's, well, new. So many of you kids have the freedom to express yourselves without getting ridiculed for it now and the things I've heard about sexuality and gender are no different."

"But," you wet your lips here, "are you okay with it?"

He nodded. "It'll take a while to get used to, but. Yes."

You sighed in relief. Mostly it was for Jane as you couldn't bear your dad turning on your sister for such a thing (not that you could even imagine it in the first place), but a little part of you was glad for yourself.

Not that you were ever going to be with Dave anyway.

With his own sigh, Dad patted your shoulder. "You should go to bed, it's late. I'll see you in the morning."

You hugged him with a "Good night, Dad."

The next morning, his promise stuck as he handed you a list. "Once you do everything on here, you'll be punishment-free."

You whistled as you looked down each item on the list. A good handful of them were ones you did anyway, like empty the trash or do the dishes, and others looked harder like mow the lawn or clean out the gutters. And eugh, one of them was to clean the toilets.

Your dad let you relax for today, however, and when the rest of your family visited the house for Thanksgiving dinner you could see why. There was so much cooking to do that both you and Jane had to help out and there wouldn't have been any spare time, even if it was to do other chores.

The rest of your vacation was spent picking the easiest chores and working your way up. On Friday your dad left to do some Black Friday shopping and you spent it cleaning the kitchen and all the dishes you'd used yesterday as well as snacking on leftovers. On Saturday you cleaned up your room, Jane's room, the living room, and your dad's study, as well as the bathrooms. Since you were going back to school on Monday, Sunday morning was used up by doing your homework and in the afternoon you cleaned up the front and back yards.

You started with weeding the front lawn (you didn't see why you had to do that considering you were going to mow it too but Dad said it would make sure you got everything). Despite the late November weather you found yourself sweating through it and Jane brought you a glass of lemonade when you were to help cool you off. She offered to help, and you thanked her and declined, but it gave you an idea to text someone to make them help you.

To Dave:  
[14:20] come over and help me do chores.

From Dave:  
[14:21] you sure thats a good idea because  
[14:21] 1 im shit at chores and will just eat all your food  
[14:22] 2 is your old man even okay with us  
[14:22] i mean me

To Dave:  
[14:23] i think so.  
[14:23] technically it's your punishment too for luring me into your friendship so he should be okay with it.  
[14:24] also because jane won't get off her computer to keep me company.

From Dave:  
[14:24] shes messaging roxy

To Dave:  
[14:25] how do you know?

From Dave:  
[14:26] i can see her fucking doing it shes right next to me and wont stop smiling every two seconds about it

To Dave:  
[14:27] good point.

From Dave:  
[14:28] anyway dirk said he could tote me over so ill be there in a few  
[14:28] dont expect me to do anything

While waiting for Dave you decided to drag out the lawnmower. When you went into the garage you thanked your dad for not putting "clean the garage" on the list because it was in terrible condition. Once the thing was out of the labyrinth you called the garage and started, you had shed your t-shirt as now it was clinging to your back with sweat.

When you were halfway done with the lawn, you heard the rumble of a motorcycle come down your street. When it stopped in front of your house and the person on back pulled off their helmet, you could see that it was Dave.

Excitedly you turned off the lawnmower and practically bounded up to the bike. "I didn't know you drove a motorcycle!"

Dave's eyes, his red red eyes that you wanted to see a million times over went from your torso to your face and you realized your shirt was still missing. "Dirk does," he said slowly. You guessed it was Dirk under the other helmet as he nodded at you. Dave climbed off the bike and put his shades on, much to your disappointment. "I'll text you," he told his brother, who started the bike again and was off.

He turned to you. "So, what's with the public indecency?"

"First of all, it's my property," you defended. You even crossed your arms over your chest in a dramatic fashion. "Second of all, it's really hot out and I've been sweating too much from doing all these chores."

"Are you kidding?" he asked. "It's fucking freezing out here. I regret not bringing a second jacket even now."

You laughed at that. "It's only like, 60 degrees."

"Jesus, how do you live like this?"

You rolled your eyes. "If you really need another jacket I've got a lot inside. Just gotta finish mowing the lawn."

So Dave sat on the porch as you finished your job. It only took you another five minutes, but every time you glanced at Dave he was looking at you. You considered putting your shirt back on, but when another bead of sweat rolled down your back you decided against it.

You cleaned Dad's car next. You were glad for the buckets of soapy water and hose you had available because it definitely helped you cool off. But with a wicked grin, you directed the hose's spray from the car to Dave.

"Wh-JOHN."

You couldn't stop laughing as he wormed out of his soaking jacket and pulled his equally wet shirt over his head. You wanted to get his pants wet too but that might have been too much. "Come help me clean the car, you baby."

He was visibly shivering, but with a grumble he grabbed a sponge from the bucket of soap water on the ground.

And squeezed it over your head.

With a flinch and a laugh the next ten minutes was spent dousing each other in soapy water before Jane came outside.

"You guys." The look on her face was one of disapproval and you sulked. She disappeared back inside and with a sigh you made Dave help you finish cleaning the car.

Your sister returned with a pair of fluffy towels(which you discovered were freshly dried) as well as a pair of sweatpants and sweaters for the both of you. Once you were cleaned and dried and dressed she shooed you both onto the couch with a blanket and movie and said that "You can finish your other chores tomorrow."

The movie was something that you've probably seen a billion times but after you'd stopped shivering from the cold you couldn't concentrate on anything but the feeling of Dave cuddled up next to you. Why Jane hadn't gotten two separate blankets was beyond you, but you weren't going to complain.

You glanced down at him and found that he was dozing off next to you. Thoughts of how nice it would be if you kissed him filled your head and with a fluttery feeling in your stomach you shook them away.

The thoughts didn't come back until you were happily dreaming of being with him, which wasn't very long at all.


	17. plastic cups

When winter break rolled around, you had found yourself without any plans for the upcoming holidays. You'd finally finished all the chores on your dad's list. Dave, Rose, and Jade's birthdays had left you broke from all the money you'd saved since April and briefly you wondered if you should start looking into getting a job. Though it seemed as if you were still a bit too young.

It isn't until a few days before the 25th that you got a message from someone who added you while you were idle.

arachnidsGrip began pestering ectoBiologist at 18:44.  
AG: Okay, so my dum8ass neigh8or is having a Christmas party and said that he wanted a 8ig turnout.  
AG: So o8viously I'm going to invite everyone I know. Including you. >::::)  
EB: who is this?  
AG: Right. Introductions are a thing I gotta do when I add people.  
AG: First of all it's Vriska.  
AG: Second of all make sure you tell all your friends.  
EB: oh hi.  
EB: you have pesterchum?  
AG: John, this is a years old IMing program that, since it constantly upd8s, is very very popular.  
AG: Getting them last year was the social norm.  
EB: that makes sense i guess.  
EB: so where's the party? and when?  
AG: One sec.  
AG: Okay, it's seven PM to whenever on the 23rd and it's at 1001 Arrow Street.   
AG: Which is literally right around the corner from my place.  
EB: got it.  
EB: who else is going?  
AG: Me and Kanaya, Tavros, Aradia, Nepeta, Sollux, Gamzee, Karkat, Eridan, Terezi, and Feferi.  
EB: i don't even know half those people.  
AG: Well you will 8ecause we'll aaaaaaaall 8e there. Plus anyone they're inviting and anyone THEY'RE inviting and so on.  
AG: I even heard some seniors are going.  
EB: i'll tell my friends then!  
EB: who's hosting again?  
AG: This sweaty guy named Equius. He's on the ro8otics team or something.  
AG: REALLY into horses. I've 8een over there and it kinda smelled 8ut he said he would air the place out.  
AG: So that's a plus.  
EB: i'll bring a noseplug just in case.  
AG: Ha, good idea. I might steal that idea from you.  
EB: oh and one more thing.  
EB: will there be alcohol there?  
AG: Pro8a8ly.  
EB: oh.  
AG: It's not like you have to drink it. No one's gonna force you.  
AG: Usually if there is any 8ooze it's cause the seniors smuggled some 8ut 8esides them it goes untouched.  
EB: okay.  
AG: Anyway I gotta 8last. Keep spreading the word and all.  
AG: See you at the party. ;;;;)  
arachnidsGrip ceased pestering ectoBiologist at 19:20.

You sat back in your chair. Your dad wasn't really big on alcohol, save for the holidays and even then it was wine or champagne. Sure both you and Jane had been allowed some in celebration but to you the stuff was disgusting.

"Where's Dad?" you asked as you got downstairs to find that you couldn't find any sign of him.

"He went to the store," Jane answered. She looked over the back of the couch and at you. "How come you need him?"

"My friend's having a Christmas party in a few days, and I wanted to ask him if he could go."

"When?"

"Wednesday."

"Where?"

"1001 Arrow Street or something like that."

Jane sat up and turned towards you properly. "At the Zahhak's house?"

"I guess."

She couldn't help but grin. "I'm already going."

You were dumbfounded at this. "Really?"

"A girl named Aranea told everyone in Physics on Friday," she said with a nod, "and she's a senior."

You paused. "Did you tell Roxy?"

"No, I thought she would know already. She usually hears any word getting around fairly quickly."

You hummed at that. If Roxy didn't know, then it wasn't likely that the rest of the Strilondes have heard either.

Or so you thought.

ectoBiologist began pestering tentacleTherapist at 19:34.  
EB: so have you guys heard about the party on wednesday?  
TT: At Equius' residence?  
EB: yeah, actually.  
TT: Then yes. He invited me himself.  
EB: you know him?  
TT: Relatively. Dirk knows him much better since they're both in robotics together.  
EB: so dave knows about the party too?  
TT: Yup.  
TT: How's your present for him coming along?  
EB: good.  
EB: wait how do you know about that?  
TT: Jade doesn't really get the whole "secrets" thing and said she saw it when she was over last.

You looked down at your lap, embarrassed. You'd gotten her and Jade store-bought presents for Christmas, and for Dave you had wanted to make him something special.

EB: well it was still really hard to come up with!  
TT: It's hard to get Dave a present he likes.  
TT: I mean, I always get him a present he'll hate and he does the same but in terms of presents he'll sincerely enjoy, well.  
EB: jee that helps.  
TT: If it's from you, I'm sure he'll like it.  
TT: Also he'll be able to see how hard you worked on it from what I heard.  
EB: most of that work was thinking of it in the first place.  
EB: but thanks.

The conversation fell short after that, so you opened a different program on your computer and opened a file named "dave_xmas.wav"

* * *

You didn't even wanna go to the party since it was just going to be crappy music and booze, but Rose convinced you that John would be there and Roxy wasn't going to let you stay home anyway. So after throwing on your best hoodie, skinny jeans, and Vans, the four of you were off. After all it was only a ten minute walk and it wasn't that dark yet.

You were surprised that Dirk was coming too. Parties weren't his forte, and Jake's neither, so the fact that both of them were going was a surprise to you.

To be fair, everyone you knew was going.

The party was everything you expected it would be. The music was just a bunch of songs ripped off the Top 40s list(you could compose shit better than this in five minutes) and it wasn't long until you spotted some seniors toasting themselves with plastic cups full of beer. There were people dancing and talking everywhere and whenever you went for a bathroom break you would either see someone puking or some couple sucking face.

It wasn't long before you found John. To be fair, he found you, or at least Jade did and he was following close behind. Even yelling, however, it was hard to make conversation.

"Where's Rose?" Jade asked, and after repeating it twice you could hear her.

"She's making sure Roxy doesn't drink anything," you told her, "per Mom's orders." You saw John visibly stiffen at the mention of alcohol and you wondered if his dad was okay with it. Probably not.

"How come?" she questioned.

"She got hammered really bad back on Thanksgiving and Mom didn't like it." From the look of Jade's face you could tell she heard probably less than half of it, so you raised your voice. "She gets really crazy when drunk."

"Got it! I'll catch up with you later." After that she disappeared into the crowd and you subconsciously inched closer to John.

He seemed to have done the same because you bumped arms with him. You inched back with a "Sorry," but he gripped your sleeve.

"I didn't think there'd be this many people," John said. There was a little hint of worry to his voice.

"Do you not do good with crowds?" you asked him.

You would have expected some sort of denial but he just nodded. "School is fine cause I don't have to deal with them for long, but. This."

With a sigh you reached up to pat his shoulder. "It's cool, we can step outside."

At least it didn't smell like sweat and beer when you stepped outside and you were thankful for that. John dragged you over to a bench before letting out a huge puff of air.

"Thanks," he said. "Crowds are just. Yucky."

"I feel it." You shrugged. "They're not exactly on my list of favorite things but I can still deal with them to some degree."

You watched his fingers tangle together and fidget nervously in his lap. "You don't have to stay out here with me."

"I want to."

John smiled at you and he looked fucking gorgeous in the fading light of the sunset. Fuck you really wanted to kiss him.

No, no. Shove those feelings back and oh god was he getting closer. No, it had to be just you.

You glanced down at his hands again. They'd moved from his lap to the bench next to him. And closer to you.

You cleared your throat and stood. "I'm gonna get us some drinks."

"Oh, see if they have eggnog," he said.

"Got it."

But first, a quick stop to the bathroom, which was thankfully empty. You were thankful your shades hid a fraction of your blush but you still fanned your face to cool off.

Turns out the fridge was stocked with different kinds of milk including soy milk and some shit called muscle milk. Luckily there was also a carton of eggnog in the door so you poured both you and John a glass.

By glass you mean plastic cups, as there wasn't a glass to be found.

You were bumped and jostled and spilled a good amount of the drinks outside, so maybe it was for the better that you couldn't find any glassware. Didn't wanna break anything and be blamed for it.

However, when you got back outside, John was nowhere to be seen.

"Son of a bitch," you found yourself saying as you looked around. Maybe he'd gone back inside to look for you?

You heard the water balloon before it hit your head. You were easily drenched as balloons two and three hit you before you managed to look up.

Somehow John had gotten onto the roof and had his arms full of water balloons.

"Should I even ask."

He giggled, he fucking giggled as he tossed another one. This one you easily dodged. "I would've thought these would be perfect to prank people with. Who knew there'd be so many targets?"

"So the crowd stuff?"

"90 percent a lie and just to get you outside."

You sighed. "How'd you get up there?" you asked.

"There's a shed over there," he said, maneuvering the balloons in his arms to point around the side of the house.

Seemed simple enough. You set the drinks up on the top of the shed before hoisting yourself up, then again so you could reach the roof. When you sat next to him and handed a drink, you grabbed a balloon and tossed it at the lawn below.

When John took a sip of the eggnog, he immediately spat it out. "This tastes horrible! Did you check the expiration date or what?"

You shivered as you shook your head. You would have to get dry soon if you didn't wanna get sick. But you still took a whiff of your own cup, which is something you should have done in the first place. "Motherfucker, someone spiked it."

He now looked at the cup in his hands like it was poison. "With what?"

"Straight liquor, probably. Or vodka, I dunno. Rose is the booze expert, not me." You took a sip anyway because fuck, why not. It wasn't half bad.

Cautiously, he did the same. "Still tastes like shit."

"You don't have to drink it," you reminded him. He downed the cup anyway. "Dude."

"I'm gonna come home smelling like the stuff anyway," he figured. "Might as well have fun with it."

You handed him your cup. If John wasn't gonna be responsible with the stuff then you sure as hell were.

An hour later made you wish you had stopped him, because a bunch of older kids were shouting "CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" at him as he drank from a fucking keg.

Fifteen minutes later and you cut him off from any more booze. Didn't stop him from laughing his ass off about how everything was so blurry.

Another hour later some guy that you knew as Karkat's older brother was breaking up the party. Two people stood behind him, one as you recognized as Equius Zahhak and the other one you guessed was his brother by how similar they looked.

"I CANNOT believe how irresponsible you all are being, you should be ashamed! We are all only months away from graduating high school and you decide to throw it away like this? Shame on you all!" Was along the lines of what he was lecturing everyone with.

A girl who you thought was Terezi's sister and had her hands deep in some poor boy's pants groaned. "Great, someone let Kankri in."

Everyone else in the immediate area groaned as well and you took that as your cue to leave. You took John by the hand, and now he was whining about eggnog again. Luckily you found Dirk and told him that you were leaving and he said he'd see you at home.

The walk back to your apartment was brutal. You knew how much shit John would be in if his dad found out so you stole his phone and sent a quick text asking if he could "spend the night at Dave's." Five minutes later you got a text saying he could. From how much he was stumbling you would have thought to carry him, but after three attempts you gave up. The first attempt got you about twenty feet, the second about five, and you could barely hold him the third time. So you just led him by the hand to your apartment.

It was nice, holding hands with John. It was everything you hoped it would be. Given the circumstances.

Your mom eyed the two of you suspiciously but you swore on your life you were 100 percent sober and that he was just here to crash. She pinched his cheeks which made him giggle before sending the two of you to bed.

You left him in his clothes because fuck that shit. One, it was hard enough to get him to cooperate and get his shoes off. Two, you wouldn't be able to dress him in anything else without fainting or something. It didn't stop him from boring holes into your back as you changed out of your damp shirt into a dry one. You were gonna just sleep on the floor but he insisted you share the bed with him. Your plans then were to stay as far from him as you could but then you heard him sniffle and oh dear.

"Oh god, my dad's gonna kill me," he said slowly, a tone of realization to his voice. You could see in the darkness how shiny his eyes were.

"Shit, John, don't cry. It's all good." You scooted closer to take off his glasses and wipe his face dry. "You'll get a lot of sleep tonight and yeah you're gonna have a hell of a hangover, but we'll clean you up and make sure you don't smell before sending you home," you promised.

"But what if he gets mad, what if he thinks it's your fault, what if he decides I can't ever see you again-"

"That's bullshit," you cut in. "I'll always be your friend no matter what."

He was quiet after that save for a thick swallow. A minute later and he spoke up again.

"Dave?"

"Mmhm?"

"Are you my best friend?"

At that you smiled. "Hell yeah, man. Best bros for life."

"And um."

"What?"

"No never mind nothing."

"No, come on." Now you were interested and you scooted closer.

"...Can I see your eyes?"

With a sigh you took off your shades. You figured it was better to take them off than accidentally crush them in your sleep, but, "Why do you like them so much?"

He smiled like a huge dope. "Cause they're pretty."

At that your cheeks flushed with heat. "Thanks, I guess."

You were both silent after that. You fell asleep staring into his blue, blue eyes that were so much better than yours and you could have sworn that he held your hand.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i gave some more troll mentions because yeah
> 
> the christmas arc will continue to next chapter and then there will be a REALLY BIG HAPPEN so be super excited for 18 and 19 because i know i am
> 
> THIS CHAPTER IS OVER 2500 WORDS WHAT THE FUCK.....................
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!


	18. wrapping paper

You noticed a total of three things when you woke up.

One, your vision was blurry, almost as much as your recollection of last night.

Two, your head was hurting so bad that you had to squint and you were pretty sure you had a concussion or something.

And three, this was not your bed.

You unwrapped one arm from around Dave to blindly reach for your glasses and when you put them on you stopped. Because you realized that you were in bed. With Dave. Cuddling.

With a flinch you tried scooting away but his hold around you was unbreakable. You swallowed, and poked his cheek. "Dave," you whispered. It was then you realized how groggy your voice was as well and you wondered how bad you had gotten last night.

Dave didn't budge. He actually looked very peaceful when he was asleep and when you were this close you could probably count all of his light little freckles, if there weren't so many of them.

Another thought struck you. Oh god. Oh god what if you told him everything. You blushed at that and you hoped to god that wasn't the case.

You calmed down a little. Even if you had confessed, he wouldn't be cuddled up to you like this, would he? But.

What if he liked you back?

You knew your thoughts about his feelings would be a little skewed by your hopes that he would have any at all. Though both Rose and Jade have constantly suggested you confess, so.

Oh dear.

The door opened around five minutes later and it was Bro Strider who poked his head through. Seeing that you were awake, he also waved. "Yo."

Again you tried pulling away from Dave, now twice as embarrassed of his display of affection. "I-"

"Nah, it's cool, he gets really clingy in his sleep. Not to mention he sleeps like a fucking rock." Bro leaned on the doorway and grinned. "Anyway we're making breakfast. You cool with pancakes?"

"Yeah." Your voice cracked so you cleared it. "Thank you."

"No prob." And with that he was gone.

This time you were careful to pry Dave's arms off of you and after some difficulty, you managed. He was stronger than he was going to admit, apparently.

Memories of his failed attempts at carrying you made you snort and you looked down at him.

On one hand the sunlight made you want to cry, because your head was hurting really bad. On the other hand, his hair looked like spun gold and his face was absolutely beautiful, so maybe it wasn't as bad. Then he snored and you realized you were staring so you quickly left as to not get caught.

The rest of the apartment itself was a sight. You had to be careful not to trip over some wizard statue if you didn't want to impale yourself on one of the swords that were scattered everywhere.

You were also surprised to see Jade, Jane, and Rose passed out on the couch. You hadn't seen your sister or cousin since getting to the party, and you hadn't seen Rose last night at all.

Dirk and Jake were seated at the kitchen counter and you noticed that Roxy was the only one of your collective siblings that was missing. "Where's...?"

"She's puking," they said simultaneously. The mention of throwing up made your own stomach turn and you hoped you wouldn't have to do so.

"Bro said something about pancakes?"

Dirk slid you a plate. "I wouldn't eat it all in one go if I were you."

"I wouldn't either," you replied. You took a bite anyway and hot damn there were chocolate chips inside as well.

A groan sounded from behind you and you felt someone rest their chin on your shoulders. "Gimme a bite," Jade said wearily.

With a roll of your eyes you gave her a forkful. "Tired?"

"Hungover," she corrected.

"Wait, you were drinking?"

"We all were, John. Even the  _water_ was spiked."

Jake grinned. "I didn't."

"Yeah, well, shut up," she mumbled into your shoulder. You petted her hair.

Wait. What about Dave? He was sleeping like a log after all.

Dirk seemed to have read your thoughts, or maybe it was just the look on your face. "Dave didn't look like he had a drop. Dragged you all the way here. After all, he cares a lot about you," he said.

Before you could respond, Roxy joined the four of you then and leaned on the counter. "My head hurts like a bitch." Her words were still a little slurred and her tone of voice practically dripped of exhaustion. She was probably still a little drunk. "My boat too. Moat. Throat. Yeah, that."

"That's what you get for downing so much alcohol," Jake scolded her.

"I only had like." She pursed her lips as she continued, "four drinks."

"Uh huh."

Jade snatched your pancakes from under you and you just let her. After a couple of bites you had lost your appetite, which you guessed was for the better.

You smelled, though. It was an odd aroma, as you could smell both alcohol and cinnamon on you when you took a whiff of your shirt. Dave probably smelled like cinnamon.

"Would it be okay if I took a shower?" you asked.

"Go right ahead," Dirk answered with a nod.

The bathroom was right next to Dave's room and after locking the door you took off your clothes and glasses and showered.

Your thoughts wandered back to last night. You remembered how fluidly your water balloon prank had gone down and how bad the alcohol tasted. You also remembered holding Dave's hand as he walked you back to the apartment. You remember falling asleep staring into his eyes, and. That was it. You had a faint recollection of asking him something, but what it was you couldn't quite grasp it.

Once clean you stepped out of the shower and dried yourself off. The idea of putting your clothes back on was gross because they still smelled, so maybe you could borrow something of Dirk's to wear while you ran your clothes through the washing machine or something. You wrapped your towel around your waist and scooped up your clothes.

You almost had a heart attack to see that Dave was there when you opened the door.

To be fair, his eyes were droopy and he was reaching for the door. It took him a moment to realize you were there, and with a yawn he glanced up at you. "Mm, hey." Hints of a southern accent leaked through his voice more than usual and you wondered how awake he actually was.

"...Hi." You stepped out of the doorway and held your towel to your waist tightly.

When he stepped closer to go into the bathroom he seemed to notice how under dressed you were. Which seemed to wake him up. "Hey."

"You said that already," you said with a grin.

"Why are you...?"

"Showered."

He glanced up at your still dripping hair. "Oh."

You looked down at your feet as another thought surfaced in your mind. "So last night?"

"What about it?" Dave asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"Did I say anything. About us?" After thinking for a second he nodded and you just about exploded into blush. "Oh god, I am so sorry, whatever I said I didn't mean it I swear-"

Now the look he gave you was questionable. "Why would you be sorry about being best friends with me?"

Oh.

"What, did you think you said something else?"

You looked away from Dave's expectant gaze and cleared your throat. "No, that was it, I just wasn't sure if you were okay with that," you said quickly.

"Right. Anyway I gotta pee." And with that he closed the bathroom door behind him.

Not much later, you were dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and an ugly Christmas sweater with Frosty the Snowman on it, sitting on the couch while your actual clothes ran through the wash. Jane was sitting on your left wearing something of Roxy's and trying(and failing) not to laugh at you. Jade and Jake were sat to your right and everyone else was seated on the floor.

"So I'm sure we're all confused about what happened to who last night, and we're all concerned too," Dirk started. "So I think we should go around and talk about it." You all nodded in agreement. "I'll start. Yes, I did have a drink or two, but not enough to get slammed. I had to walk back here, get the truck, and drive back so I could get everyone home."

Rose was next. "As Mom said, I was to keep Roxy from getting drunk. Jane was there, and Jade showed up to help me too, but after a while, we, um." She cleared her throat here, "we got distracted. Jade was more drunk than the three of us, but it wasn't long before we were all passed out on the floor somewhere."

Roxy nodded. "Pretty much the same story as hers," she agreed. "Had a drink, then two, then three, and then everything else is a hazy blur."

"Can't lie, John got fucking hammered," Dave chimed in from next to her. "I had like, one sip of booze and then when Karkat's brother showed up, we bailed."

Jane went next. "Apparently, I'm a lightweight. Though, that's probably because I haven't had much of any alcohol in my life. I also think I slipped in puke at one point."

You tried to recall what happened the night before again. "I was just gonna sit on the roof and throw water balloons at people, but the eggnog we had was spiked and it all just spiraled downwards from there. Luckily we made it back safe enough."

Jade leaned against Jake's arm. "I can't remember much, but that might be more of the headache than the alcohol talking." To prove her point, she rubbed at her temples. "I think I was with you guys the whole time, though."

Jake smoothed his hand over Jade's hair as he finished the circle. "I didn't have a drop," he claimed. "I stuck with Dirk for the most part, but a few times we got separated and I found myself socializing more than I'm used to."

Your phone buzzed and you checked to see that it was your dad. And that he would be swinging by soon to pick the two of you up.

"Are my clothes done?" you asked. Jane nodded too as hers were also being washed.

"Almost dried," Dirk answered.

Ten minutes later you both were dressed in your appropriate clothes and five minutes after that, your dad was there. With a wave to everyone, you left.

* * *

The next morning found you, your dad, and Jane unwrapping presents from under the tree. You all weren't big on the whole "get lots of presents" thing and kept it down to a few presents per person.

Jane had gotten you a couple DVDs of movies you've been dying to see but haven't, while you had gotten her a pair of knee highs with little moustaches on them.

You had both pitched in enough money to get Dad a new PDA. His old one was getting to be around five years old now and it was a wonder that the thing still worked. Your dad on the other hand had gotten you both matching Christmas sweaters with cute little ghosts on them, as well as $50 gift cards to wherever you wanted.

After breakfast, you all went to Jade's house to give them their presents. But, unsurprisingly, the Strilondes were there too. You were just going to give Rose and Dave their presents next time you saw them if you didn't see them today, but luckily that wasn't the case.

Rose had knit you all something. Jade got a scarf with different shades of green hearts all over it, Dave got a hat striped with the colors of the gay pride flag, and you got a dark blue pair of mittens with a cool looking cyan-swirly design on it. You had gotten her a book featuring the creatures of the deep sea and later you caught her vividly thumbing through the pages of it.

Jade had something different for each of you. For Rose she got a pretty little locket, for Dave a new pair of ear buds and for you one of the new RPGs that came out that she had wanted to play with you. You got her a bunch of seeds for pretty flowers that she could plant in a few months.

Dave gave Rose what looked to be a comic book, and when you read through it, it featured different shitty drawings of Rose and whatever made up adventure she was going to. He gave Jade a dog plushie that doubled as a backpack, and when he gave you a CD you froze.

"What's on this?" you asked slowly.

"A song I made for you," he explained, glancing at his feet.

With a sigh you shoved your present into his hands. You didn't say anything until he tore open the wrapping paper: "Somehow, you stole my idea from right under me. But my first composition that I actually tried on ever so it's probably not as good as whatever you made."

"Woah, no, slow down," he said. "I love it."

"You haven't even heard it yet," you argued.

"Don't need to."

"Thanks." Jade was giving you a look that you knew exactly what it was and you chewed on your bottom lip. "And we can listen to them together if you like," you suggested.

"I'd like that," he said with a nod.

After getting them onto a computer, you shared Dave's new headphones with him as you opened his song first. "It's called Clockwork."

It had a steady beat that wasn't too fast or slow, and the instruments in it went together well. While it didn't have vocals, it nearly brought you to tears with how beautiful it was. "Dave-"

"Don't say anything until we're done," he insisted as he clicked on your song next.

You weren't lying when you said that it was your first composition. You couldn't find a good way to end it and the song ended up being around eight minutes long. You had recorded yourself playing piano, but you had also found a website online that would give you some background noise and a couple other virtual instruments to work on it. Hearing it with such high quality headphones you could pick out every little mistake but when the song was through and you looked at Dave, his bottom lip was trembling.

"I love it. Holy fuck, I'm going to end up listening to this thousands of times."

Your cheeks colored in flattery and you looked away. "It's not that good."

"It is," he said. You felt his hand bump against yours as he leaned closer. "Does it have a name?"

You had decided many things on what to call the song but in the end it had been a midnight decision based on the noises coming from outside your window when you had finally finished composing the piece. "Wind," you found yourself saying.

When he actually grabbed your hand you think you might have died. No, you weren't dead, because your heart was still beating. At a very fast rate.

"Thank you John," he said, giving you a genuine smile. "And merry Christmas."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wind and clockwork are actual songs from the homestuck medium album if you didnt know(and you can go look it up on youtube if you wanna hear)
> 
> alsO THIS IS A REALLY LONG CHAPTER BECAUSE I DIDNT WANNA CUT IT IN HALF
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER WON'T BE TILL TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY BECAUSE I HAVE A LOT TO DO THIS WEEKEND I AM VERY SORRY
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!


	19. construction paper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome back everybody! i was at fanimecon for the past few days and that was really fun and tiring but now i am back and refreshed and ready for new chapters to write
> 
> especially this one
> 
>  
> 
> go follow [t0wer0fpimps](queue.co.vu) because that me!

For the rest of winter break, you only saw Dave again a couple of times. It was nice that your dad was finally okay with the two of you being friends and going over there or inviting him over was much easier than secretly meeting at Jade's house. You had wanted to see him on New Years, but your dad already had plans with one of his friends from work and you ended up going there for the last night of the year. It was uneventful for the most part, most of the people there were adults and the few kids there were either really young or not interested in talking to you. You had lots of apple cider and it made you wish you could kiss Dave when midnight finally came around.

When vacation ended and you got back from school, you could tell right away that something was wrong with Dave.

Whenever you tried to talk to him, he got really twitchy and nervous and would try to excuse anything you said, probably somewhere along the lines of, "Yeah," "Okay sure," "Whatever," or even "The teacher's talking."

During homeroom, he would keep looking over across the room at you and then away again. During Geometry, you tried sending notes in his direction but he ignored each and every one of them.

He didn't show up to the treehouse at lunch.

"Is he acting this way towards everyone, or just me?" you blurted.

Jade and Rose exchanged a look. "He's dealing with, well, something right now," Rose started. "He's trying really hard."

"What is it?"

"An event he's planning," she explained. "It's stressful, and I believe since he's so worried about the outcome of his plans, he's taking it out the wrong way. On you."

Jade nodded. "Once he gets through with it, it should clear things up."

They were making zero sense, but you decided to put your trust in them. After all, who knew Dave better than the three of you?

During Geography, you were all assigned partners for a new project, so you didn't have a chance to talk to Dave anyway. He wasn't online after school, and so the entire day was spent putting off homework and worrying about him until it was actually late enough to go to bed. The next day was nearly the same. After homeroom you wouldn't see Dave until lunch, but during Orchestra Rose kept giving you reassuring glances. Which totally backfired when Dave didn't show up for lunch again.

In English, your spirits were lifted just a little when seats were reassigned again and you were seated behind Dave.

From here, you could see his entire frame tense and relax and he kept playing absently with his hair. With a little sigh of resignation you figured there was no way of getting through to him so you concentrated on the lesson. It wasn't until twenty minutes before class ended that he turned around towards you. And in his hand was a folded piece of construction paper that you supposed he'd been using in art. He extended the note towards you and you reached for it and-

" _Mister Strider._ "

You both froze and looked up at the teacher tapping her foot expectantly, her arms folded over her chest.

"I've tried to be lenient about this, but you haven't been paying attention for more than five seconds today," she lectured. "I want you to give me that note."

He turned back towards her slowly with a little shake of his head.

"Dave, give me the note."

He was silent and the whole class watched the interaction with awe.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Then read the note aloud for us."

His head shake was more noticeable this time. "I really shouldn't."

"It's either that or the principal's office, Dave."

You could see his hands were shaking as he unfolded the note. "Okay. Well, it says, uh. 'do you wanna go on a shitty date with me and maybe kiss a little' and I put two checkboxes, one says 'yes' and the other says 'hell yes'."

You were speechless. Your heart was beginning to race and you swallowed thickly. This wasn't happening, was it? Maybe it was a dream and you would wake up just to be disappointed by it all. You couldn't see his face from where you were sitting but his whole frame was stiff. With a pinch to your leg under your desk you decided that yes, this was all very very real.

Your teacher scoffed and turned back to the board. "Just pay attention next time."

When the bell rang, Dave nearly bolted out of the classroom, and would have made it too if you hadn't caught him by the sleeve. "I need to talk to you," you said quietly.

"Well, I'm gonna be late for practice and this is a classroom environment so it wouldn't be appropriate and."

"Just come with me," you insisted, looking at him directly. "Please. It's important."

With a little nod he let you drag him to an abandoned lunch table in the student quad. When you sat him down he was staring at his lap silently and you sighed. Looks like you'd have to start the conversation.

"Using a note is a pretty shitty way to ask me out, by the way," you said slowly.

He was quiet for another moment. "Well, it was how I asked to be friends with you, so, naturally..."

"Is that why you've been acting weird these past couple of days?"

"I was just really fucking nervous, okay?" he explained. He wrung his wrist with his other hand and chewed on his bottom lip. "I wanted everything to be perfect so you would say yes but now it's all ruined and I'm really sorry."

You grinned. "Then yes." There were butterflies fluttering around in your stomach and you actually welcomed them for once. "Or would hell yes be a better answer?"

It clicked for him. "You mean."

"Yes, I would love to go on a shitty date with you," you answered with a smile.

He blushed and smiled back at you. It was bright and genuine and if you weren't already in love with him you would probably be wooed.

Not that you weren't being wooed anyway.

You leaned closer as your smile evolved into a grin. "And I would really love to kiss you a little. Or a lot."

His blush intensified and you could hear him swallow. "Right now?"

With your own little blush you nodded. "Maybe."

"I'd like that," he said. His voice was quieter now and he scooted closer to you.

You took his hands in yours and leaned in.

He leaned in too and parted his lips a little.

You could hear your heart pounding as you closed your eyes.

His nose brushed against yours when he tilted his head up.

And your glasses made the most satisfying clacking sound against his when you kissed him.


	20. styrofoam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM REALLY SORRY ABOUT DELAYING THIS i have a huge project due tuesday and finals is after that so ive been putting all my energy into that
> 
> friendly note that this is a world with 90 percent less homophobia than we actually have because writing it makes me really sad
> 
> ALSO i wrote this chapter on my phone so feel free to point out any possible typos

"You have GOT to be kidding me."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun."

"John, your definition of fun is really fucked up."

A whine. "Daaave. Stop being a party pooper."

"Nah."

"If you do, I'll kiss you."

"...Fine."

God, you were wrapped around John's finger more than a fucking ring now that the two of you were dating. Not that you didn't mind.

But ice skating wasn't how you wanted to spend your first date. Apparently he had thought it would be romantic, and forgot to mention that you should have brought a jacket or gloves or something.

You didn't like the cold.

He looked pretty warm, though, and he didn't protest when you clung to his arm.

When the both of you got your skates and laced them up, you had to say something about it. "John I can't skate."

"I'll help you out." John smiled at you and fuck, he couldn't be real with how beautiful he was. This was probably all just a dream.

And when you fell flat on your ass on the ice, you were reminded that it wasn't. John helped you up with a laugh and held your hands, skating backwards as you tried going forwards. "It's kinda like walking," he suggested, "but with more gliding."

"First of all, that doesn't make any fucking sense at all." Most of your movement around the ring was thanks to John keeping you up. "Second, it's pretty hard to walk on frozen water with a tiny little slice of metal."

"It takes some time to get used to," he replied. "But I'm sure you'll get it."

Eventually, after falling twice more, you got the hang of it a little. John transitioned to hold one of your hands so he could skate beside you, and aside from reaching for the wall occasionally to correct your balance, it wasn't half bad. It was actually really nice. When you looked at him, he was looking back at you and you looked away again.

You couldn't help but get nervous every time you thought about the kiss. It didn't go very far, as after a few kisses(or maybe it was a lot) someone yelled at you to break it up. Embarrassed, you had went to track and didn't see him until the next day. Since then, you had barely talked about it save for a few mentions on John's end and actually trying to plan this date.

You looked up at him again and he was leaning closer to you. Startled, you slipped on the ice and fell, and he fell down with you.

With a laugh, he rubbed his butt which had gotten the worst of the impact. When you tried to get up, you just slipped again.

"You're such a dweeb," he said, laughing harder.

Your cheeks flushed. "I will kick you, don't test me."

He just laughed harder and you scooted over to him on the ice. With a little gulp you leaned over to kiss him.

His lips were cold and he gasped against yours and you pulled away when a shiver ran through you. You faked a smirk and thankfully your voice didn't shake when you said, "I told you not to test me."

Instead of reciprocating, he just got up again. "I think that's enough skating for now."

You wondered what you would do in between getting off and back on the rink and your heart sped up, but when he led you off the ice and to the snack bar you calmed down. Oh duh.

"I'll have a thing of cider," you ordered. John ordered a cup of hot chocolate. It wasn't long before the guy behind the counter filled up a couple styrofoam cups and handed them to you.

It was warm in your hand and when you took a sip, you flinched. Too hot. John blew on his for a while, but when he tried drinking it he did the same. You led him over to an empty table by the rink so at least the two of you could sit while you waited for your drinks to cool.

Usually, you would babble on about how lame this all was(even if you were enjoying it), but you couldn't bring yourself to come up with anything to say. When you looked at him from across the table, he was leaning his chin on his hand and smiling at you. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

"What me nothing." You snorted and took a sip of your cider. Nope still too hot.

"Really now."

You gulped the burning liquid down anyway, your voice cracking when you replied: "Yeah."

"Reeeally now." He leaned closer. "Cause I don't think that's the case." 

You groaned in surrender. "This all just seems really surreal, yknow? Being here with you, especially since it's a date, and kissing you and holding your hand and smiling at you and god, just being friends with you and now maybe even more than that-" You were running on a tangent by now and you clamped your mouth shut. 

John laughed a little and reached forward to squeeze your hands, one of his skates bumping against yours under the table. "Like a dream?" You nodded. "Yeah, I feel that way too." 

You chewed on your lip, glancing at him over your shades. "I really like you," you admitted. 

"Yeah, but do you like like me?" 

"I take it back, you're a fucking asshole."

"I'm not fucking any assholes yet." 

At the word "yet" your face got hot and you pulled away to drink your cider again. By now it was actually tolerable. "Yeah okay sure." 

John smirked. "Seriously? You dirty talk me all the time but the minute I turn it around on you, you become the flustered virgin?" 

"It's different," you argued. "And I'm not flustered, so shut up." 

"Fine, I get it," he said with a shrug. He then leaned in to close the distance between his lips and your cheek.

You cupped his face in your hands to kiss him properly. "Even if I was, I could probably still dominate the hell out of you," you murmured. 

"Oh really?" he asked. You felt his smile as he kissed you back. "Is that where this is going?" 

"That's exactly where this is going," you concluded. 

"I'd prove you wrong, but we're in public." Since when did he become the confident asshole. That was your job. "And it's rude to do so on the first date." 

You rolled your eyes to try and get some ground here. You released him to down the rest of your drink, which luckily you could do without burning yourself. "Let's just get back on the rink." 

He did the same and took your hand with a smile.


	21. cardboard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a short chapter because i am a gay baby with lots of other work to do
> 
> i apologize

"No, dammit."

You crumpled up another piece of paper and threw it in the direction of your trash can. It bounced off the rim and landed on the floor.

That was the fourth one now.

And you still had to reply to a message from Jade.

GG: so what are you gonna get dave for valentines day??  
EB: ugh, well.  
EB: i wanted to write him something.  
EB: like a poem.  
GG: thats a great idea :0  
EB: but nothing i write is good enough!  
GG: youve been dating dave for like a month now right  
GG: so hes gonna love anything you make for him!  
EB: i know.  
EB: that's why i have to make this one especially special.  
EB: make a good impression and all.  
GG: good point  
GG: well if you need help you could ask rose!  
GG: shes really good at writing  
EB: yeah.  
EB: if by writing you mean writing wizard porn then yeah.  
GG: i love her wizard porn!  
EB: tmi jade.  
GG: </3  
EB: i'll ask her if i really need, but.  
EB: i want this to be entirely from me.  
GG: i guess i get that

So with that, you started again.

* * *

It wasn't long until Valentine's Day had come. The fated holiday had landed on a school day this year, so going about the hallways without bumping into some couple trying to go at it was nearly impossible. At one point you caught Karkat and Terezi kissing behind the locker room(ew), Kanaya stealing a kiss from Vriska as they passed each other in the halls(more ew), Jade and Rose macking in the bleachers(double ew), and even Roxy and Jane sneaking kisses on the way to their classes(triple ew).

It wasn't until you actually caught a chance to talk to Dave at break that you felt better about seeing all the couples around. Because you had him and no one else mattered. He had led you to a less populated section of the school and handed you a cardboard box shaped like a heart.

"Peanut free," he promised. "Also there's a note inside."

You ate one as you unfolded the card. It had a messy sketch of two people kissing, one in red and the other drawn in blue.

"Is this supposed to be us?" you asked with a grin.

"I didn't wanna mess it up but I was doing it in pen and then it just." Dave hung his head and let the sentence hang.

You looked down to the familiar handwriting at the bottom of the card and you had to read it twice over to make sure you had read it right:

happy valentines day  
i know i havent known you for long but i really hope were together for a while if not forever because  
i love you

okay thats it bye

You looked up at him with a grin and pulled him in to peck his lips. You then handed him a bouquet of red tulips(which you had bought at the convenience store down the street from school). "Happy Valentines day. Read the card."

He took his sweet time in appreciating the smell of the flowers before reaching into them and pulling out a folded piece of paper. As he read it, his face got progressively more red and that was exactly the reaction you were anticipating. You didn't even need him to read it out loud to know what it said, considering you had spent so long trying to write it:

what can i say about you,  
that would be better than just saying it in person?  
i want to hold you so long until  
i can't keep my eyes open any more.  
i want to make you laugh so hard that  
you have to hold your hurting stomach.  
i want to kiss you so deeply even if  
it's only for a second.  
you exceed standard beauty in every possible way.  
no gemstone could be prettier,  
no star in the sky could shine brighter,  
no model could even try to compare.  
and any poem i try to write  
is just trash when i think about your laugh.  
your smile.  
your wit.  
your friendship.  
you.

"John," his voice wavered and you weren't sure whether he was flustered or about to cry. Probably both. Before he could continue you hugged him close and kissed him.

"I love you too," you murmured against his lips.

And he kissed you back.


	22. tissues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as we move on from the holidays there are gonna be bigger time skips heads up!
> 
> also thank you all for waiting patiently ive been studying all week for finals and have had no time to write =o=

It was nice being warm. Well, this wasn't one of those times.

Okay, sure, it was March and with March came rain. But with rain came getting colds all the time because let's face it, it's really hard for you not to play in the rain. You supposed you would be used to it by now, but it was more the West half of Washington that got most of the fun. So, when it did rain, you would always have a hell of a time. Hopefully this time, you wouldn't get sick.

And hey, even if you did, you were taking Dave down with you.

You dragged him outside after class was over for the day, and you ended up leading him to the little field by the parking lot. By now most students were gone, as no one wanted to be stuck out here anyway. You even ditched your backpack under a tree so it wouldn't get too soaked.

"I'm gonna get my clothes all wet," he protested.

"Too bad!" you said with a laugh. "It's not even pouring yet."

"There's no difference between it sprinkling out and it pouring out," Dave argued. "Because either way, you get wet." You splashed in a puddle and got very satisfying splatters of water everywhere. He groaned. "I think I'll stay here. Nice and dry."

You pulled out the boyfriend card. "I'll kiss you."

"Nope, not this time."

Damn. "Twice."

"..."

"With tongue."

"...If I get hypothermia I'm shutting down the government."

You clapped as Dave left his things next to yours and stepped into the rain. He then very visibly shivered and you decided that this was a very good idea. "You'll get used to it," you advised.

"Uh huh." He looked towards the sky and opened his mouth to collect water. What a dork.

He then squirted it at you once he had enough. 

"Ugh, Dave, gross!" You laughed and ran away from him as he aimed another spurt of water in your direction.

You then proceeded to slip and fall in a puddle of mud. You were silent for a moment before bursting into giggles. He just sighed and offered his hand to you. "Get out of the mud, you dork."

"Okay." You pulled him down with you, getting mud all over the both of you.

His complaints were loud and by now you couldn't control your laughter for the life of you.

Dave eventually gave in, laughing along with you. The next twenty minutes or so was spent running around and rolling in the mud and splashing in puddles. You were soaked to the bone and shivering when you sneezed.

"I think it's time to get somewhere dry," Dave advised. You were ready to protest when he leaned up to peck your lips. "Otherwise, you'll get sick."

That was on Friday. Now it was Saturday and you woke up still shivering and with a nose still dripping.

Fuck.

You didn't want to waste the energy in texting Dave, so you just called him. However, instead of what you were expecting, someone else picked up instead.

"Good morning, John," Rose answered. Huh.

"Hi Rose. I was supposed to go on a date today," you started, "but Dave won't pick up so tell him I can't make it. Also I'm bored, so how are you." Your voice had a slightly stuffy tone to it and you cringed at how weak your throat felt.

"I'm just fine, thanks for asking. But I see you're under the weather as well."

As well? "Oh no, did you catch something?" you asked.

"Not me."

"...I got Dave sick didn't he."

"Yup."

You pinched the bridge of your nose and that got you at least some relief for your sinuses. "Is he asleep?"

There was some shuffling on the other end and the sound of a door closing. "Yes, for the most part," Rose answered.

"Well that's good," you said with a sigh. "Just make sure he gets lots of rest and is warm, cause I can't." Leaving the house sounded really gross right now.

"Well, you could always come here to be sick with him. Then you both have someone to suffer with," she advised.

Well that was an idea. Good one or bad you couldn't tell. "But my dad would never let me out of the house if I was sick."

"Hmm. Well, it was worth a shot."

"I'll come over later if I feel better!" you promised.

"Then I'll see you if I see you," Rose said as a goodbye.

You hung up and just stared at your ceiling for a while. It was sprinkling outside again, and the dull sound of the rain hitting your window lulled you back to sleep.

When you woke up, Casey was looking at you from her tank and you remembered you should feed her today. After doing that, you glanced at your clock. Sheesh, noon already. You never slept this late. At least you did feel a little better.

"Well good morning, son. Or, afternoon," your dad greeted you after you got dressed and came downstairs. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, I just ended up sleeping later than I'm used to," you fibbed. "Sorry for missing breakfast."

"We've got leftovers." Dad pointed towards the kitchen.

Eating right now didn't appeal to you but you smiled brightly anyway. "Thanks. Actually, I was wondering if I could go to Dave's today to hang out."

Talking about Dave as a friend was easy with your dad now. But. You barely had the guts to talk about your relationship as boyfriends to him aside from a rushed confession of "Daveandmearedatingnowokaybye" one evening after dinner. It still embarrassed you when Dad had to ask:

"You won't be alone with him, right? His parents are home?"

"Of course his parents are home," you said, feeling your cheeks heat up. "And from what I know, Rose is there too."

Dad mulled this over and nodded before standing up. He stretched and you wondered if he'd been on the couch all morning. "I'll drive you over, then."

He ended up just dropping you off in front of the apartment building and telling you to give him a call when you needed to come home. Rose smiled when she saw you and waved you towards Dave's room.

You were greeted with a sneeze and a "fuckin' hell."

"Well, that's no way to treat a guest," you lectured, picking your way around the tissues scattered on the floor to join Dave under his covers.

He had rolled over so that he was facing you. "Fuck you, you got me sick," he said. His voice was much more stuffy sounding than yours and he'd taken off his shades. Or maybe just never put them on for the day. "Now go away before you get sick too."

You wrapped an arm around him. "Too late for that," you said. "I just don't have it as bad as I did this morning. Naps are good for you, you know."

He just groaned and leaned against you, probably too weak to hug you back. "I don't even know how you do it. Be up and getting here and being your regularly cheerful self."

"To be fair I have a raging headache," you replied. Yeah, it was exaggerated, but moving around and just standing was starting to make your head pound.

Lying here with Dave was nice.

You ended up entertaining each other with either arguing banter or flirty love lines you probably got off the internet, and it was so much better than it would have been if you were alone. When Dave stopped replying to you, you realized that he had fallen asleep cuddled into your chest.

You smiled softly, carefully untangling yourself from him. You cleaned up all the tissues around(even if you had to use one yourself), and decided that maybe you would go make him some soup.

And then you realized that it wouldn't be too bad to spend the rest of your life with him like this.


	23. tissue paper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heads up that im probably going to be wrapping this story up at around chapter 25-30 (sobS) because im writing two other whole fanfictions after this
> 
> on the plus side here's some birthday stuff and from rose's pov !!

Today was John's birthday. He'd been talking about it for the past ever, and now that he was holding a party, he had invited you and Dave. Jade too, but as she'd told you, she'd been celebrating his birthday for years.

Now the both of you were seated in the backseat of Bro's car as he drove across town. In your lap sat your present for John all neatly wrapped up by a ribbon. It was a piano book, filled with sheet music for songs from popular movies of this decade. Meanwhile your brother was clutching a shiny bag filled to the brim with tissue paper to his chest. He refused to tell you what was in it.

You ran into Jane on the way inside, as she was starting up a motor scooter and strapping on a helmet. She smiled and waved to the both of you before puttering away.

That's right, it was her birthday too. You remember how they were going out to eat somewhere for the occasion, and on Roxy whining on how her present wasn't good enough and Dirk calming her down and reassuring that it was.

You supposed Dave felt the same way about today, but neither of you were emotionally open enough to talk about it.

And ten seconds later it didn't matter as John was opening the door with a bright smile, inviting you guys inside with a "Glad you could make it!"

Jade smiled at you from the couch when you went inside. She had a cyan balloon tied to her wrist and it bobbed when she waved at you. John's dad came in from the kitchen donning an apron covered in flour and frosting and a smile on his face. "Cake's ready."

"Dad," John said from behind you, exasperated. "That's the third cake today, and Dave and Rose just got here!"

"Well, it's not every day my son turns fifteen. You both are welcome to have all the cake you want." And with that he returned to the kitchen.

John smiled apologetically. "I was hoping to do the cake-eating thing at the end, along with opening presents but I guess we could do that now."

You returned the smile and went to claim a seat on the couch. "Whatever the birthday boy wants, I am happy to go along with."

Dave shoved his present into John's arms. "Here, then."

He was obviously still very nervous about the whole relationship thing. You could tell he tiptoed around the whole thing, as if he were afraid if he made a wrong move the whole thing would shatter in his hands. But you could also tell that John adored him and that it would take a lot to mess that up. Hopefully Dave would see that too.

John peeked in the bag. He adopted a rather suspicious look on his face when he pulled out what looked to be a wooden box.

"Open it," Dave instructed.

He did so and soon enough the room was filled with an oddly familiar tune, only because of the fact that it was a music box that you couldn't quite put your finger on it.

Meanwhile Jade squealed a little beside you and grabbed your arm. "It's the Ghostbusters theme, oh god that's adorable."

John had a similar look on his face that he was directing at Dave. After a glance back towards the kitchen he took your brother's face in his hands and kissed him.

"Get a room," Jade teased.

You grinned and pressed a kiss to Jade's cheek. She smiled a little and grabbed your hand.

The next few hours consisted of John opening your and Jade's present(she had gotten him new headphones, as he had been complaining about his old ones breaking), and then playing video games and eating cake. Lots of cake.

Apparently John's father loved baking the stuff and you could see where John's hatred towards it came from. Yes, it was delicious, but after a while you were all stuffed and getting sick of having so much.

When the sky got dark and you found yourself yawning, you stretched out of Jade's hold. Looking over you saw that Dave had curled himself up in John's lap. "It's getting late," you pointed out.

"Aww! Do you guys really have to go?" John whined.

"Mm, probably," Dave replied as he stretched a little.

Jade put her controller aside and sat up. "Well you guys could sleep over!"

"We've got school tomorrow," Dave argued.

"So? I stay over here all the time on school nights!"

"That's cause you're family," John reminded her. "But I mean, it _is_ my birthday. So it wouldn't hurt to ask, right?"

You all shrugged, and that caused John to get up and over to his father's study. He came out a minute later.

"Well?" you asked slowly.

"You guys can stay!" John smiled and bounced a little. Jade cheered next to you and Dave pulled out his phone, probably to text your mother. You knew he wouldn't be texting Bro as the evening is when he preferred to work, and therefore to not be disturbed.

Ten minutes later, it was indeed your mother who knocked on the door and you were the one to answer it.

"Now, Rosey, I expect you to be the responsible one," Mom directed as she handed you a bag. "I've packed clothes for the both of you to wear tomorrow, and be sure to remind Dave to change his underwear-"

"MOM," Dave cut in from across the room.

"Oh hi sweetie!" she greeted with a wave. "Don't forget to change your underwear!"

He groaned and hid his face in his hands. John laughed.

You stifled a giggle. "I'll be sure to keep him in check."

Your mom delivered a swift kiss to your forehead. "Thanks, hon. I'll see the both of you tomorrow, okay? Let me know if you have anything else going on, too!"

When she was gone you went back to the couch and left the bag next to it. Dave's face was positively red and John was poking fun at him for it.

"Ooh, we should watch a movie!" Jade suggested when you sat back down.

"What kind?" you asked.

"Action," she answered, at the same time that John and Dave said "Mystery," and "Rom-com."

"Rom-com?" John asked as he turned to Dave. He even quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"They're ironic," your brother defended.

You giggled a little because you knew he was a complete, unironic sap for romantic movies and such and he shot you a look that might as well have said "don't you fucking dare."

You decided to let this one slide, instead suggesting: "Why don't we just pick a classic children's movie?"

In the end everyone agreed on that because no one could deny their love for movies from their childhood. Eventually after little debate, you chose to watch Aladdin.

The first half of the movie was loving commentary such as "Ugh, Robin Williams is so great," (by John, and a hummed agreement from Dave) and "I actually like the bird," (Jade), and you all eventually sung along with the movie at some of the songs. Jade was the first one you noticed had fallen asleep, and when you looked over you saw that Dave had as well. You gave John a look and he just smiled.

Eh, might as well call it a night. You tucked your head under Jade's chin and closed your eyes.


	24. clothes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look its the beach episode i mean chapter
> 
> this got a lil nsfw so just a heads up B)
> 
> its a little longer than usual to make up for how long ive been taking to write these latest chapters and because i've decided that next chapter will be the last(SOBS)
> 
> really though thanks for sticking with me through this

"So I think we should go to the beach," Jade suggested cheerfully.

"The beach," Dave deadpanned.

"Oh come on, we've got a three day weekend and my grandpa owns a place on the shore," she defended. "We can go and spend a couple days out there."

"Okay one, isn't the coast like. Infamously rainy and cold? And two, we have a three day weekend to spend studying for finals. Which I'd rather do instead of fail."

"I have to agree with Dave on this one," Rose chimed in. "But, if the weather is nice, I wouldn't mind spending a day out there."

"It's June!" Jade reasoned. "One of the few times of the year where it's really nice." She even gestured out the treehouse window to prove her point.

"I've got an idea," you interrupted. "Why don't we go out there until Sunday, and we can spend Sunday night and Monday all studying together!"

The girls seemed to agree, but Dave was still grumbly about it. You poked his side. "Do you not like the beach?" you asked softly.

"It's fine, I just." His cheeks colored in embarrassment. "I burn really easily. And then I freckle."

"It's called sunblock," Rose reminded him. "The solution you're looking for is sunblock."

"Yeah, but its all gloopy and white and gross."

"Said the gay one," Jade murmured, and you stifled a laugh.

"Whatever! The beach it is!" Dave concluded, if only to get you all to stop teasing him.

The rest of the week passed slowly, as when more plans were made, the more excited you got. When you all piled into Jade's grandfather's car on Friday afternoon, you weren't surprised to see how excited everyone else was. Jade sat in the passenger's seat and was bouncing a little while she waited for Grandpa to start the car, and the rest of you squished into the back seat. Dave was stuck with the middle seat since he and Rose tied for the smallest person and since Rose insisted that the two of you sit next to each other and she sit behind Jade.

"Should we have invited Jake?" you wondered aloud when you were all finally on the road.

"Grandma is taking him camping," Jade answered. "So it's not like he's all home alone." You nodded.

Dave kept shifting around while clutching a backpack to his chest. You kept poking him until he would spill what it was.

"It's books! And study guides and. Stuff," he finally said.

You grinned. "Wow, I didn't know you cared so much about your studies."

"John if I don't ace my finals, I'm going to summer school. So yeah I do care."

Your expression softened and quickly you pecked his cheek. "Okay, I get it. Study away."

"Well not now, I'm gonna get carsick."

You laughed.

The rest of the (two hour long) car trip consisted of singing along to the radio, playing road games, and trying to sleep. Especially trying to sleep, so much even that when you actually got there, your neck hurt from trying to sleep comfortably. And failing.

Jade was the first one out of the car and into the house. She wasn't kidding when she said it was on the shore, since when you all went inside and out to the backyard, there was only a fence separating you from the long stretch of the beach.

"It smells wonderful out here," Rose remarked.

"I'm gonna go change into my swimsuit!" you decided.

"Same," Dave said automatically, then paused. "But not together."

Rose looked skeptical. "Uh huh."

"I bet you'd like to change together," Jade giggled.

Before they could tease any further you grabbed Dave's hand and winked dramatically at them.

You did end up dragging Dave into the nearest guest bedroom and locking the door. His expression went from confusion to one of embarrassment. "Wait we're not gonna actually-"

"I don't mind," you said casually, grinning as you turned your back to him and tugged your shirt over your head. When you unbuttoned your jeans you could hear him turning around and shuffling through his bag and you couldn't keep the smile off your face.

When you were fully dressed(fully dressed being your navy swim trunks and a pair of sandals) you turned back around. Dave was just getting his trunks up around his waist. They were red, black, and white striped.

As quietly as you could you snuck up behind him, only speaking when you had your arms around his waist. His bare skin felt really soft. "Aw, you got dressed too fast."

"Shut up, if you wanted to see me naked you would have done it yourself."

You tugged at his waistband. "Is that a challenge?"

He just turned around in your arms to kiss you. His face was obviously very red.

You kissed him back and let your hands wander over his back. He rested his hands on your shoulders and leaned up for more. You were appreciative of the action, and you didn't realize you were walking him backwards until your hands hit the wall. His shocked gasp was very audible, despite his intentions to hide it.

You switched to holding his hips and you closed your eyes. You never really got a chance to be alone with him like this, it was either school or one of your houses or a public place and you didn't really feel comfortable making out with him under someone else's eye.

This, however, was really nice.

You didn't realize that you were pressing one of your knees into Dave's crotch until he choked back what sounded like a moan. You took that opportunity to pull away from the kiss, and you were both very breathless and blushing.

"Bed," you murmured, and he nodded silently.

Before you could resume kissing him, however, there was a loud knocking on the door.

"It can't take that long to change!" Jade's muffled voice came through. "How about you guys do the do when we can't hear everything?"

"Shut the fuck up, Harley, we'll be out in a minute!" Dave called back, his voice surprisingly strong.

Embarrassed, you climbed off of him. He sat up and pecked your lips. "It's cool. We can try again some other time."

You sighed in relief and nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Aside from a few knowing glances from Jade, it wasn't that awkward. The girls were already dressed, but you knew that Jade had come with her swimsuit under her clothes. She wore a lime bikini with the bottom being a skirt, as well as a big straw hat with an emerald ribbon wrapped around it. Rose wore a lavender one-piece and a pair of jean-shorts on top, along with huge white sunglasses. She probably didn't plan on going in the water right away, and your assumption was proved right when she sat under the beach umbrella and pulled out a book.

The sand was hot and the water was cold but you were quick to get into the water after a quick spritz of sunscreen. It was the spray-on kind, not the lotion kind and Dave was grateful for that. He did have to spend much longer putting the stuff on to make sure he wouldn't burn, but he joined you in the water once he was done.

Jade joined you two soon after, but after getting knocked underwater by a huge wave and laughing her ass off, she returned to the blanket where Rose was and started building a sand castle near it.

You spent the better half of the day getting out as far as you dared and jumping at each wave that came. Dave did the same, much closer to the coast for a while until you came closer so you could jump together. He insisted on holding your hand.

To be fair, the day didn't last very long considering you had had school earlier that day and didn't get to the beach until the late afternoon. When the sun was starting to set, you all headed back to the house and you saw that Grandpa was making hot dogs for dinner.

The house had a balcony facing the ocean and since Dave called dibs, you two were the only ones up there to watch the sunset. The girls had gone back to the beach to walk along the shore.

"I'm glad you guys persuaded me to come," Dave remarked, breaking the silence.

You nodded in agreement. "Me too. And you know, this view is pretty romantic."

"You're such a cheeseball," Dave said with a sincere smile, but he leaned in to kiss you anyway.

You kissed him back and snatched his glasses. "And you're beautiful."

His face had a faint tinge of red and you hoped it wasn't sunburn. "You're wonderful."

"You're amazing."

"You're sexy."

You smiled sheepishly and kissed him again. "You're sexier."

"Oh no way, if you knew the things you did to me-" He seemed to realize what he was saying and clamped his mouth shut.

"Like what?" you asked, your smile evolving into a grin.

"Maybe I'll tell you in bed."

"Deal."

You ended up not getting that chance. The couch in the living room folded out into a big futon and the four of you decided to share it to watch movies. It wasn't until the movie was done and the rest of them were sleeping that you remembered, whispering a "Damn it."

This wasn't too bad, though. You were facing Dave, your limbs tangled together, and you could feel Jade's back pressed against yours. It was comfortable.

"Dave," you whispered. He must have not been asleep yet because he opened one eye in the darkness to look at you.

"What."

"I love you."

His tired frown melted into a smile and he snuggled up to you. "I love you too."


	25. packets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is it!! i want to thank all of you guys for making it to 34k+ words, ~~almost~~ 300 comments, and a whole bunch of other stats
> 
> thank you to [ArcheryAntagonist](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcheryAntagonist), [Fandingdano](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandingdano), and [AnAwesomeChick](http://archiveofourown.org/users/AnAwesomeChick) for being some of my top commenters
> 
> and a special thanks to [BubblyTsunami](archiveofourown.org/users/BubblyTsunami) for all the ideas and support and just letting me ramble about the story for the past forever(and being really cute about it)

"Ugh!"

A wad of paper hit the back of your head at your complaint and you just groaned again. "Why does Geometry have to be so hard?"

"Now, Dave, maybe you should try solving one of my problems and see if yours are worthy of complaining about," Rose replied. "For example, you should help me graph this cotangent-"

"Fine I get your point."

John blew a loud raspberry from up on his bed. "Why are we studying math first again?"

"Because for you two, you're taking the math test on the first day," Jade reminded. "So we all might as well."

You could see why you had all agreed on John's house for a study session. His room was cozy and it smelled good(not that you would ever say so) and because he lived in a more suburban neighborhood there wasn't the usual loud bustle of city traffic out the window.

It didn't make you any less worried about finals, though, because for some classes you were teetering on the edge and the final would decide whether you could slide with a C or go to summer school.

Rose had it easy. Somehow she was brilliant in every academic thing ever and was flying by with nearly straight As.

Jade and John were evenly matched. They both found Biology to be ridiculously easy and were eager to help you out, and while John struggled in Geometry like you, Jade struggled in English.

"How are you struggling in English?" Rose had asked when the subject came up. "Because the students in our class talk so much we hardly ever get anything done."

"Yeah but we have that dumb essay," Jade replied. "It's hard to write a thousand words on some book that we barely spent time in class reading."

"True," Rose agreed.

It was well into night time by the time you understood most of the things on the study guide for Geometry. To be fair, you had left the beach just this morning and hadn't gotten back until mid-afternoon.

It was also around that time that John's dad came in with two large bowls: one was filled with cubed fruit and the other with assorted chips. "I figured you all would need some brain food," he said as he set the bowls down on the floor.

"Thanks Dad!" John said cheerfully before leaning off the bed and over your shoulder to get a few pieces of watermelon.

Rose plucked a grape from the bowl and nodded.

You don't know when you passed out, but when you woke up your head was in John's lap, a book was in yours, and a shitton of whipped cream was in your hand. Oh no, they weren't getting you this time. John was still asleep and so was Rose from what you could see, but Jade was gone. She must have gotten up to use the bathroom.

With that thought in mind, you slapped your hand onto John's face. Gently, of course. He must have been a light sleeper, because he jolted and you were laughing your ass off.

He pulled off his glasses and wiped off his face. And proceeded to wipe the whipped cream on your face.

You licked your lips to get some of it off and recoiled. This was shaving cream.

After cleaning off, stretching out(sleeping in those positions were terrible for all of your backs), and taking a break for breakfast, you were all back in John's room to finish studying. You went over History and Biology, talked about what the English essay would be like, and reviewed Geometry again. And again, and again, and until your eyes hurt from even looking at the cover of the book.

At the end of the night you were exhausted, but you think you understood most of everything. With a goodbye, Rose managed to drag you out of the house without you falling asleep. It didn't stop you from crashing on your bed the second you were home.

* * *

 

It wasn't until the teacher slapped a packet onto your desk that you got nervous, really nervous. You glanced at John at the other side of the room and he gave you a thumbs up. He also blew you a kiss, but received a look from your teacher that made him look away.

Two hours later, it was break and the first test was over.

"God, whoever came up with the idea of finals must have been fucking brain dead since the womb," Karkat grumbled. "Like, in what way is this benefiting us at all?"

"If you do good on it, it brings your grades up," John pointed out, glancing at you.

"Yeah, and what if you're already acing the damn class, why should you have to prove you know your shit?"

"Are you acing the class?" you asked him.

"...No."

The next few days followed similarly. You would take the test in the morning, get a half hour break, take another test, and be let out at noon. That was the plus side, being let out at noon. Because clubs didn't count as a period, the last period would consist of having very brief periods in which you would get your grades.

And then Thursday rolled around and you nearly cried in relief because school and the tests and everything was over and you had aced everything and you could finally relax.

After a quick water and bathroom break, you said goodbye to the few people who you knew you would hardly see until school started up again, before trying to look for John. Along the way you passed a couple kids singing "What Time Is It" from fucking High School Musical and you nearly gagged. That movie was literally so bad even you couldn't bring yourself to like it ironically. Then you actually did gag, because when you took a double take you saw that the group had John in it.

You put a hand on his shoulder and he turned around to smile at you. Well okay that was worth it. His singing voice, now that you'd actually gotten a chance to hear it, was airy and pleasant and despite the song he'd been singing you could probably listen to his voice all day.

"Hey Dave!" he said happily. He bent a little to scoop you up in his arms and twirl you in a little circle.

"Whoa there Johnnyboy, calm down," you said, only the statement was ruined by your own excited grin.

"School's over though! Aren't you excited?"

"My joy is just bursting over on the inside."

"Well, let it outside!"

You allowed yourself to smile. For him. He smiled back brightly and then he was kissing you.

You stood there in your arms for a while, giving yourself this little victory celebration. You loved John, HE loved YOU, everything that stressed you out was over and nothing hurt.

And you knew it was going to stay that way.


End file.
